BioQuakes

AP Biology class blog for discussing current research in Biology

Tag: brainwaves

Why Are Some Kids Aggressive? A Biological Understanding

A research team at the University of Iowa has identified a brain wave (P3) that is associated with aggressive tendencies in toddlers.

 

What does this mean?
Researchers used a sample of 153 toddlers between the ages of 2.5 – 3.5, of whom had individual sessions in which they wore a net of head sensors to mark brain activity while hearing different pitches sounded throughout the room. The noise of the tones occurred while the toddlers watched silent cartoons.

Each pitch change during the toddlers’ session exemplified a change in the environment. This “testing” corresponds with most changes within a setting, and is particularly similar to a transitional phase in a social interaction. It is important to note that the brains of aggressive kids are usually unable to successfully detect a change in the tone of a person they are interacting with. For example, while one neutral kid may be playfully making fun of another, the aggressive kid might interpret that as bullying and will respond with hostility.

When evaluating the head sensors, researchers found that “toddlers who had smaller spikes in the P3 brain wave when confronted with a situational change were more aggressive than children registering larger P3 brain-wave peaks,” as cited in the Science Daily.

Why is this important?

This finding in research will allow for earlier interventions in stopping aggressive impulses in toddlers, which is usually a tendency that continues throughout their adolescence. When confronting aggressive behaviors at an older age, it is harder to treat and dispose of combative traits that are instilled within a child’s demeanor.

As someone who has worked with kids with special needs of ages 4-10, I have watched kids grow up and continuously get more aggressive as they age. Although it is hard to combat these tendencies at the age of 4, it is easier to help them better react to social interactions they do not understand at 4 years old rather than at 10 years old. Therefore, in helping parents recognize key behavioral issues with their children at the young age of 2, this brain wave scanning of P3 will allow said parents to find new ways to decrease the aggressive behaviors their child will exhibit.

However, I am unsure whether or not this will become a routine thing doctors check for in toddlers, or how much it will cost. Do you think it is necessary for parents to know this information? If you were a parent, would you want your child to go under this “testing?”

The Ability to Control Genes with Your Thoughts

A research group led by Martin Fussenegger, a professor of Biotechnology and Bioengineering at the Swiss Federal Institute of Technology, has developed a method by which brainwaves control the creation of proteins from genes. The technology wirelessly transfers brainwaves to a network of genes that allows the human’s thoughts to control the protein synthesis of the genes. The system uses a uses an electroencephalogram (EEG) headset, which records and transmits a human’s brainwaves and sets it to the implant in the gene culture.

A successful experiment of the system included humans controlling gene implants in mice. When activated by brainwaves, the gene implant culture would light up by an installed LED light. The researches used the human protein SEAP as the protein that would be generated in the culture and diffused into the blood stream of the mice. The humans were categorized by their states of mind: “bio-feedback, meditation and concentration”. The concentrating group caused an average release of SEAP. The meditation group released high concentrations of the protein. Finally, the bio-feedback group produced varying degrees of SEAP, as they were able to visually control the production of the protein as they could view the LED light turning on and off during the production process. The LED light emits infrared light, which is neither harmful to human nor mice cells. The system proved successful in its ability to translate brainwaves into gene control and protein production and its potential for harmless integration into the living tissue of humans.

The research group hopes that in the future a thought-controlled implant could help prevent neurological diseases by recognizing certain brainwaves at an early stage of the disease and translating the brainwaves into the production of proteins and other molecules that would work to counteract the disease.

Lights of ideas

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