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rug

(82,333 posts)
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 11:44 AM Jun 2014

Brain Stimulation Results in Altering Macaques ‘Free choice’



Ventral Tegmental Area

Friday, May 30, 2014

We have known for some time now that manipulating the brain results in altering the mind. The latest study, which will be published in Current Biology on June 16, further solidifies this view. Through a process called electrophysiology, researchers discovered the area in macaques brain (ventral tegmental area) that helps regulate reinforcement and motivated learning. This study is the first of its kind to confirm a causal link between the activity occurring in the ventral tegmental area and choice behavior in primates.

•“In one experiment, we allowed macaques to choose multiple times between two images -- a star or a ball, for example. This told us which of the two visual stimuli they tended to naturally prefer. In a second experiment, we stimulated the ventral tegmental area with mild electrical currents whenever they chose the initially nonpreferred image. This quickly changed their preference. We were also able to manipulate their altered preference back to the original favorite… In scans we found that electrically stimulating this tiny brain area activated the brain's entire reward system, just as it does spontaneously when a reward is received. This has important implications for research into disorders relating to the brain's reward network, such as addiction or learning disabilities.” (Science Daily)

This new finding, if it musters peer review, reveals how easily choices can be altered through simple brain stimulation techniques as well as how the reward system works. However, by "simple" I do not mean that it is not invasive. The ventral tegmental area is deep in the brain--it is at the very center of the brain. Currently, stimulating this region of the brain can only be done by surgically placing electrodes. But, there is no reason to think that non-invasive techniques will not be developed considering how much our current technology, such as ultrasound, has improved in recent years. As the researchers pointed out,

•Once non-invasive methods – light or ultrasound, for example – can be applied with a sufficiently high level of precision, they could potentially be used for correcting defects in the reward system, such as addiction and learning disabilities.” (Science Daily)


http://untemperedintellect.blogspot.com/2014/05/brain-stimulation-results-in-altering.html

http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2014/05/140529142448.htm

http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0960982214004825 (Subscription or purchase required.)
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rug

(82,333 posts)
2. Different experiment.
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 12:08 PM
Jun 2014

That involved the dorsolateral prefrontal cortex, magnetism and the ability to lie. This involves the ventral tegmental area, electricity and the ability to choose.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
3. True, but since the materials are the same, I think it's a reasonable prediction that
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 12:09 PM
Jun 2014

the outcome of a similar experiment will be the same.

cbayer

(146,218 posts)
4. It's more about localizing a small area responsible for a very specific, and
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 12:19 PM
Jun 2014

relatively abstract, function.

That's an ongoing process in the field and leading to some really interesting brain mapping.

The study you cite found a completely different area doing a completely different thing.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
5. I was responding to this bit.
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 12:49 PM
Jun 2014

"But, there is no reason to think that non-invasive techniques will not be developed considering how much our current technology, such as ultrasound, has improved in recent years. As the researchers pointed out,"

Granted, the article says 'such as' ultrasound, not 'exclusively'.

The mapping is fascinating. I'm just pointing out a mechanism by which we can already induce involuntary mental alterations in another part of the brain, because the mechanism here is likely the same.

AtheistCrusader

(33,982 posts)
7. No, all good.
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 12:55 PM
Jun 2014

Knowing how each part of the brain works separately and together, is critical to a whole host of issues.

Good stuff.

Jim__

(14,045 posts)
8. It does show how easily choices can be altered through simple brain manipulation.
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 01:52 PM
Jun 2014

But, they're also altering simple choices. It may not be so easy to modify choices based on complex criteria. In the instance given, they were reinforcing a choice that had been made. Does this lead to any understanding of how to get the brain to make an original choice?

struggle4progress

(118,039 posts)
9. They're stimulating a part of the brain related to "reinforcement and motivated learning"
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 05:01 PM
Jun 2014

So perhaps they're simply engaged in a very high tech version of adversive pavlovian conditioning

 

cpwm17

(3,829 posts)
11. We think, do, and learn through punishment and reward
Tue Jun 3, 2014, 09:04 PM
Jun 2014

That is why we are conscious.

If we lost the ability to feel positive and negative feelings we'd enter a coma-like state. Feelings force us to choose and act, without which it would be impossible for us to function.

In this example the Macaques felt like they had free will in the experiment. The Macaques experienced feelings and their brains reacted accordingly. But the source of the feelings is really what determined the Macaques' choices. Their consciousness is required to experience their feeling, and the feelings force the brains to act. They have no conscious free will.

We're all like the Macaques or this rat:

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