YOGA, MEDITATION MAY HELP TRAIN BRAIN TO HELP PEOPLE CONTROL COMPUTERS WITH THEIR MIND
New research by
biomedical engineers at the University of Minnesota shows that people who
practice yoga and meditation long term can learn to control a computer with
their minds faster and better than people with little or no yoga or meditation
experience. The research could have major implications for treatments of people
who are paralyzed or have neurodegenerative diseases
The research is
published online in TECHNOLOGY, a new scientific journal featuring
cutting-edge new technologies in emerging fields of science and engineering.
In the study,
researchers involved a total of 36 participants. One group of 12 had at least
one year of experience in yoga or meditation at least two times per week for
one hour. The second group included 24 healthy participants who had little or
no yoga or meditation experience. Both groups were new to systems using the
brain to control a computer. Both groups participated in three, two-hour experiments
over four weeks in which they wore a high tech, non-invasive cap over the scalp
that picked up brain activity. The participants were asked to move a computer
cursor across the screen by imaging left or right hand movements.
The participants with yoga
or meditation experience were twice as likely to complete the brain-computer
interface task by the end of 30 trials and learned three times faster than
their counterparts for the left-right cursor movement experiments.
"In recent years,
there has been a lot of attention on improving the computer side of the
brain-computer interface but very little attention to the brain side,"
said lead researcher Bin He, a biomedical engineering professor in the
University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering and director of
the University's Institute for Engineering in Medicine. "This
comprehensive study shows for the first time that looking closer at the brain
side may provide a valuable tool for reducing obstacles for brain-computer
interface success in early stages."
Researchers have been
increasingly focused on finding ways to help physically disabled individuals
who are paralyzed, have lost limbs, or suffer from diseases such as ALS or
cerebral palsy. In these cases, brain function remains intact, but these people
have to find a way to bypass muscular control to move a wheelchair, control an
artificial limb, or control other devices.
Professor He gained
international attention in 2013 when members of his research team were able to
demonstrate flying a robot with only their minds. However, they found that not
everyone can easily learn to control a computer with their brains. Many people
are unsuccessful in controlling the computer after multiple attempts. A
consistent and reliable EEG brain signal may depend on an undistracted mind and
sustained attention. Meditators have shown more distinctive EEG patterns than
untrained participants, which may explain their success.
Professor He said he
got the idea for the study more than five years ago when he began his
brain-computer interface research and noticed one woman participant who was
much more successful than other participants at controlling the computer with
her brain. The woman had extensive experience with yoga and mediation, referred
to by researchers as Mind-Body Awareness Training (MBAT).
The next step for He
and his team is to study a group of participants over time who are
participating in yoga or meditation for the first time to see if their
performance on the brain-computer interface improves.
"Our ultimate
goal is to help people who are paralyzed or have brain diseases regain mobility
and independence," He said. "We need to look at all possibilities to
improve the number of people who could benefit from our research."
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