The Pentagon announced the start of the project "Remote control of brain activity using ultrasound".
The US Department of Defense intends to install the gadget on the inside of the helmet in order to stimulate those zones that are responsible for alertness and cognitive activity, as well as the feeling of pain and general mental state.
This is just one of a number of brain-related projects. "Optimization" of the mind is aimed primarily at reducing the number of servicemen who require psychological rehabilitation after service. In addition, the military wants to ensure that decisions in emergency situations are not influenced by various human weaknesses.
Now the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) has caught the eye of the work of a neurologist at the University of Arizona, William Tyler, who is improving non-invasive approaches to brain stimulation. “When people are interested in what such a device is capable of, I ask them what their brain is doing,” says the scientist. "And the brain performs all the functions of your body, and if you knew neuroanatomy, you would certainly begin to regulate each of these functions."
Already, advanced brain stimulation techniques have been developed to treat a range of disorders, from Parkinson's disease to severe depression. Alas, for deep penetration into the brain, invasive surgery is required, and external stimulation using ultrasound cannot penetrate where many sick "circuits" are located.
But that didn't stop Mr. Tyler! The scientist and his colleagues have invented a kind of "transcranial pulsed ultrasound", which is able to affect the deep parts of the brain. In addition, it can target small areas of 2–3 mm. Finally, the prototype device is small and can therefore be attached to the inside of the helmet. The gadget is supposedly capable of handling even brain injuries: “What we call trauma is the result of many hours of metabolic damage; free radicals and tumors take quite a long time,”explains Mr. Tyler. "If a simple click of the remote control could bring about immediate intervention, we would stop what subsequently poisons the lives of some people."
Further research will be funded by the Pentagon.
