Critical Assessment of an Invasive Method of Investigating the Brain

Brain research like this generally requires a live subject whether it is to be an animal or a human. Any experimental medical testing is always an ethical issue because of the potential risks that it poses such as pain, discomfort, death, or altercations to the subjects current state. There are many risks with brain research involving what might happen in the present and what could happen in the future.

This summary is based on a video series, found on YouTube, depicting the findings of neurologist, Dr. V.S. Ramachandran. Ramachandran is noted for his use of experimental methods that rely relatively little on complex technologies such as neuroimaging. According to Ramachandran, "too much of the Victorian sense of adventure [in science] has been lost."

In the past, animals were used to study the anatomy of the brain and cognition. Although many arguments were raised around ethics and the treatment of animals in laboratory settings, these studies still yielded positive outcomes and advancements in treatment of psychological and neurological treatments such as depression, anxiety, Parkinson disease, strokes and schizophrenia. The implementation of the 3Rs aimed at addressing many ethical, societal and legal issues, although its impact is still ambiguous, it is clear that a reduction in animal pain and suffering has been minimised in research. Contemporary models show quite some progression, allowing the use of biological markers thus reducing the reliance on invasive techniques. In response to the 3Rs, strides have also been made towards the discovery of in-vitro models of brain structure and function thus reducing the reliance on animal models. Future research suggests further reduction of reliance on animals to study brain physiology, with technologies such as neuroprosthetic devices promising to substitute animals. Imaging techniques such as nanoscopy and further development of biological markers suggest further reduction of invasive techniques and ability to study active brain activity. Substitutes such as in-vitro models of the brain and the use of biological makers will definitely lead to better results in the use of animals in brain research. It is evident that some of the most significant advances in neurological and psychological disorders have occurred with the use of animals in research. Combined with the development of new design approaches, the use of animals in brain research is vital in future studies to gain an understanding of the human brain in an attempt to potentially develop and treat disorders of the human

However, the methods of obtaining such research are often seen as inhumane and barbaric. Upon researching such ethical treatments, I realized primates in particular undergo horrendous procedures. Which may often result in manipulation, or death. Vice News Journalist Miriam Wells provides us with insight on laboratory conditions by stating “Primates are forced to share a cage with another monkey with only 4.8 cubic meters of space (Wells).” What sounds like a prison is actually the basis of monitoring any issues that arise while conducting a study. A particular treatment known DBS also known as Deep Brain Stimulation has made major breakthroughs to those who suffer with Parkinson’s Disease. The irreversible destruction of neurons from such disease leaves one left with no hope. However, with new information of how the brain reacts to electrical stimulation, suffers can control the progressive disease. Both primates, and humans are common models for conducting research involving DBS. Physician researcher Eugene Redmon Jr mentions specific guidelines “Research among humans should not be subjected to unknown risks, or ones without benefits. Substances, and treatments however, should be tested in animals (Redmon Jr).” Following such guidelines allows room for potential risks involved with an intensive procedure. Hundreds of thousands of Americans suffering with Parkinson's

The most accurate method was electrical stimulation. This is because it was crucial in the development of a new way of mapping the brain through providing evidence for the localization of the cortex function.

Torturing and abusing rats to climb with tiny weights on their tails, running on a treadmill etc. for seven weeks. Then killing them just to look at the neurons in their brain was not only unethical but also, a useless study. Not to mention, there were serval mistakes within the study besides the scientist using rats as test dummies. The first group of rats was given exercise equipment and was allowed to use the equipment at free will. Obviously, at the end of the seven weeks, the first groups of rats were tested to have no stress because they were allowed to enjoy themselves. The second group of rats was forced to wear tiny weights at the end of their tail. Since rats are not accustomed to weights at the end of their tail it was stressful for them. Not to mention, rats love to run and this group of rats was unable to run they had to climb walls. The last group of rats was allowed to run however; they were force to run faster than they wanted to at times. Since this group of rats had the least ability to manage their life they had the most stress. Notice the groups that were force to do activities had the most stress. The final question is “How does this say anything about the benefits of certain exercise on your brain”. What this study is really saying is doing things at your free will that you enjoy brings less stress to your brain. The study would have been effective if the researches were trying to evaluate the effects of force activities on the

Experimental ablation is defined as “the research method in which the function of a part of the brain is inferred by observing the behaviors an animal can no longer perform after that part is damaged” (Carlson, 2014, p. 8). The technique that the researcher use does not require the “removal of brain tissue, instead the research destroys some tissue and leaves it in place” (Carlson, 2014, p. 103). Once the brain tissue is destroyed researchers observe the behavior of the animal “by seeing what the animal could no longer do” without that brain tissue intact (Carlson, 2014, p. 7).

Another instance in which neuroscientific evidence challenges past-assumptions about the brain is the use of constraint-induced therapy. Scientists, such as prominent neuroscientist Edward Taub, have also recently begun to find evidence of people who “decades post-stroke regaining some functions” (NPY). His led to the discovery that the brain may be “[reprogramed]” through by utilizing this particular therapy (Myers). By using this therapy, you may restrain a brain’s region that was severely damaged in the right motor cortex due to a traumatic injury (e.g. a stroke) and resulted in a paralysis of the left arm, so that the left motor cortex would then gradually recover the lost skills

This discovery was huge! The future world would come to know why head injuries are the most serious; it would learn how the brain interprets what we receive from our senses, etc... Building on what scientists discovered before them, scientists continue to learn about the purposes

The brain allows everything from motor control and sensory perception to emotion and executive functioning to occur. However, this high complexity inherently makes understanding it a difficult feat, one neuroscientists have been tackling for decades, and will likely tackle for many more (Choi & Gruetter, 2012). The advancement of neuroscience methods and imaging permits progress in the field; for example, once researchers could isolate neurons and glia from a sample, experiments quickly followed which showed the two cell types had different metabolic profiles. Similarly, the development of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and positron emission tomography (PET) has enabled integration of multiple modalities of information, like structure,

Electrical stimulation of the nervous system for therapeutic benefit has a long history. There are early reports from ancient time in which Scribonius Largus, a Roman physician, applied electric fish to treat headaches. Consequently, in the 10th century, Avicenna, a Persian physician, prescribed stimulation with electric fish as remedy for muscles rigidity. Over years till 17th century several attempts was made to use electrical stimulation for a large variety of diseases in human patients including hemorrhoids, gout, and epilepsy. However, before 19th century the field was suffering from the lack of robust experiments. In 1809, Rolando, in a revolutionary study, pioneered electrical stimulation of the animal brain, in order to discover the function of

One of the limitations in this study is that the add on effect cannot be excluded as patients took medications that could have analgesic effect that could interact with brain stimulation, and the few number of sessions is considered another limitation to this study. As regard blindness, although the literature is still unclear if participants themselves are able to differentiate between 2 mA active stimulation and placebo treatment, it has been found that redness of the skin is a possible clue for researchers to differentiate between the two(62,63). It is important that these results stem from crossover studies, in which subtle differences between treatments and the effects on each individual participant attract more attention. In a large sample

a tool being utilized to treat thousands of functional brain disorders every year without the danger involved in invasive procedures.

Finally, Duke University stated in March 2004 that developing research has continued to prove the credibility of integrating man and machine.[6] Additional reading of the article Human Studies Show Feasibility Of Brain-machine Interfaces from sciencedaily.com opens a window for the public to view this amazing advance in technology. The first study of implanting microelectrodes into the brain of a human was completed in an attempt to relieve patients from the symptoms of tremor disorder and Parkinson’s disease.[7] This attempt was successful and did relieve patients of their symptoms. This success promoted further experiments to record human brain activity. Making use of the same technology employed for research on the monkeys discussed above, a team of eleven volunteers allowed neurosurgeons and other scientists to surgically implant microelectrodes into their

The objective of Olds and Milner’s experiment was to find the pleasure spots in the brain. To do this they used white rats and hooked up their minds with electrodes The experiment consisted of shocking a part of the rat’s brain until they found this part of the brain that gave immense pleasure and gave the rats control to see what would happen. The results were that the rat's continuously pleasured themselves until they were dead. Stated from the text Neurology of Free Will by Charles Duhigg “ These