Tag Archives: BRAIN Initiative

America’s BRAIN May Increase In 2017

In 2009, President Obama told the press that his administration will “restore science to its rightful place.”  A list of 100 examples of this “restoration”, called the IMPACT REPORT, was published on June 21, 2016 by the White House press office.  Example #45 on this list is the April 2013 launch of the BRAIN (Brain Research through Advancing Neurotechnologies) Initiative, which was begun in order “to develop neuro-technologies [to] uncover new ways to treat, prevent, and cure brain disorders such as Alzheimer’s, Parkinson’s, schizophrenia, autism, epilepsy, and traumatic brain injury.”  This Initiative, funded jointly by the Federal government and private enterprises, was news when it first was started, but since then there have been few stories in the news and few statements from Obama himself discussing the Initiative’s studies or its findings.

Despite the lack of discussion about the program in the media, online you can find the benefits of the Initiative and its recent, but limited, successes.  In March of this year, Obama proposed to increase the “Federal investment in the BRAIN  Initiative from $300 million in fiscal year 2016 to $434 million in fiscal year 2017.”  (In fiscal year 2013, when program started, BRAIN’s budget was $100 million.)  Though the 2016 budget of $300 million seems high already, for the extensive studies the Initiative does, $434 million may be more appropriate.  This funding for BRAIN has been provided by 5 federal agencies, DARPA, NIH, NSF, IARPA, and FDA, who also run the studies.  In 2017, the President plans to increase this to 6 federal agencies, by adding the Department of Energy.

In looking through the National Institute of Mental Health, a subset of the NIH, BRAIN Initiative’s Science News page, I found only 4 press releases for 4 studies completed since 2013.  Presumptively, that is because comprehensive medical studies often take years to complete and/or more completed study results can be found on other government websites.  More financing may mean that the program can start and eventually complete additional studies, perhaps more quickly because it can add more manpower.

The study I found most intriguing was a study funded both by BRAIN and the Human Connectome Project, and completed in 2015, titled “Our Brain’s Secrets to Success”.  This study examines the cortex of 461 volunteers to see “how the human brain contributed to our success.”

As of July 7, the program has reported the results of one study in 2016, “Ketamine Lifts Depression via a Byproduct of its Metabolism,” with the purpose of finding a new, more effective anti-depressant by using metabolite, a byproduct of ketamine.  (Ketamine is already being used for this purpose in many hospitals.)  The results of this study, published in May, found that ketamine’s use as an antidepressant worked well in rats, but, while human trials with ketamine quickly relieved patient’s depression, it did not have lasting effects.

Restoring or Remodeling (?) Your Memory

Since the launch of the BRAIN Initiative in 2013, DARPA, the Pentagon’s Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, has been researching the functionality of the brain though the Restoring Active Memory (RAM) program.  With a $40 million grant, the program, led by UCLA and UPenn, has been trying to “develop a neural prosthesis” to help restore the memories of the 1.7 million American civilian and 270,000 military personnel who suffer from (rather than afflicted by, as they term it) memory loss as the result of a head injury each year.   “Through the Restoring Active Memory (RAM) program, DARPA seeks to accelerate the development of technology able to address this public health challenge and help service members and others overcome memory deficits by developing new neuroprosthetics to bridge the gaps in the injured brain,” states Dr. Justin Sanchez, Director of the Biological Technologies Office at DARPA.

Initially tested on lab rats with positive results, the program then tested it with human patients.  On May 11, 2016, at DARPA’s Demo Day, the research of RAM was presented to select officials.  These patients underwent brain surgery in which a wireless neural interface devices were implanted in brain regions that are involved in the development of declarative memory, the section of the brain that remembers how to do basic tasks, such as remembering appointments (though a calendar can do that too).

Many articles related to this project include a photo of Arnold Schwarznegger in Total Recall, but people need not worry.  Brain implants will not give you memories of living on Mars.  (However, they may allow veterans to return to war and be more skilled soldiers.)  While the example given by Total Recall is a bit extreme, the concern is founded, as according to James Giordano, a neuroethicst at Georgetown University, “[Surgical implants in the brain] could involve alteration in cognitive and emotional function, including a change in personality.”  Rick Weiss, the director of strategic communications at DARPA, counters this statement with his own question, “How is someone going to have a livelihood if they can’t remember how to do simple tasks [as happens to some brain injury patients]?”

Dr. Sanchez says, “If you have a traumatic brain injury and lost the ability to form and recall memories, if you had a medical device that could help you with that it can be transformative.”  I believe that yes, brain implants could be helpful in certain circumstances, but, when related to doing some activities, such as going to the grocery store and then shopping, a GPS and/or a paper and pen could be just as helpful and do not require brain surgery.

The ability to restore memories would be a groundbreaking scientific accomplishment.  However, choosing to undergo surgery that could essentially turn you into someone else, is a very difficult decision.