(December 5, 2012) Training eople to control their own brain
activity can enhance their visual sensitivity, according to a new study. This
non-invasive ‘neurofeedback’ approach could one day be used to improve brain
function in patients with abnormal patterns of activity, for example after a
stroke.
Researchers at the Wellcome Trust
Centre for Neuroimaging at UCL used non-invasive, real-time brain imaging that
enabled participants to watch their own brain activity on a screen, a technique
known as neurofeedback. During the training phase, they were asked to try to
increase activity in the area of the brain that processes visual information,
the visual cortex, by imagining images and observing how their brains
responded.
After the training phase, the
participants' visual perception was tested using a new task that required them
to detect very subtle changes in the contrast of an image. When they were asked
to repeat this task while clamping brain activity in the visual cortex at high
levels, those who had successfully learned to control their brain activity
could improve their ability to detect even very small changes in contrast.
This improved performance was
only observed when participants were exercising control over their brain
activity.