Steven Petrov
The Paw Print
According to The Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory, the agency for advanced scientific projects, which is part of the US Department of defense, has been getting closer in the development of an implant that will help restore a person’s memory in full. The main goal of this project is to help US soldiers who suffered major head injuries. This implant is part of the $100 million program of President Obama to explore and learn more about the performance and distinct processes that take place in the human brain.
The agency deals with the development of different methods for analyzing and decoding neural signals in order to find out what application could the stimulation of certain neural regions have in restoring people’s memory after major head injuries. The neural prosthesis will interact directly with the region in the brain called the Ammon’s horn, which gathers all of the information reaching the brain and plays a major role in the formation of memories about people, events, facts and numbers. The method for neural stimulation will be how this particular implant will be used. It will send electric impulses towards certain regions in the brain depending on the individual need of the patient. This method has already been successfully implemented in the treatment of epilepsy and Parkinson disease.
The statistical data behind this scientific innovation states that there were more than 250,000 registered brain injuries in the US army from 2000-2012. This type of injury often leads to impaired memory, losing previously recorded memories (amnesia), as well as the incapability of retaining any new ones. The introduction of this neural implant will help more than 300,000 US soldiers who fought in Afghanistan and Iraq, as well as more than 5 million Americans who are currently suffering from The Alzheimer condition.
The more and more science develops, the more people with different health problems will have more options for treatment and will be able to receive the help they need.
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