Scientists are doing fascinating research into how the human brain works. They’re also learning how our brains can be manipulated, whether accidentallyor on purpose. Although some of this research has the potential to help certain disabled people, some of it might also be misused in frightening ways.
The Hot/Cold Effect
Without realizing it, our thoughts and behavior can be affected by whether we feel hot or cold. Two of the most interesting and potentially important research findings concern temperature and criminal behavior. When asked to judge a criminal’s behavior, a person in a hot room was more likely to characterize the criminal as hot-tempered and his behavior as spontaneous. Aperson in a cold room would probably see the same criminal as cold-blooded and his behavior as premeditated. Obviously, that could have a profound effect on the outcome of a trial or sentencing. An earlier study, known as theiterated prisoner’s dilemma, had shown that the temperature effect also influences trust and criminal behavior. During the experiment, some participants held a chemical hand warmer while others heldan ice pack. Separated and placed in a pretend jail, the test subjects were given the chance to testify against their partner in exchange for a lighter sentence. If both suspects refused to testify, however, both would go free. The results showed that if a test subject held an ice pack, he was twice as likely to testify against his partner. The researchers interpreted that result as indicating that people may trust each other more when warm.
The Brain Decoder
Experts assume that the same parts of the brain are activated whether you’re reading silently, listening to someone speak, or thinking to yourself. “If you’re reading text in a newspaper or a book, you hear avoice in your own head,” said Brian Pasley of the University of California, Berkeley. “We’re trying to decode the brain activity related to that voice to create a medical prosthesis that can allow someone who is paralyzed or locked in to speak.”By studying epileptics with electrodes implanted into their brains, Pasley and his team recorded which neurons in the temporal lobe fired when listening to someone speak. After learning that certain sets of neurons reacted to certain frequencies, the scientists tried to build a brain decoder—an algorithm to determine which words someone was hearing based on the specific neurons activated in his brain. If those same neurons fired when someone was thinking, the algorithm theoretically should decode the words they’re thinking.To see if their algorithm was accurate, the scientists tested it on another group of epileptics with implanted electrodes. First, each test subject read text aloud so that the researchers could create a personalized decoder based on the subject’s brain activity. Each subject then read the same text silently to test the accuracy of the personalized decoder on the person’s neural activity.Although the brain activity from reading quietly was slightly different than that of reading aloud, the scientists were still able to decode some of the words correctly. But their algorithm needs more work before it’s accurate enough to help the disabled.
The Marble Hand Illusion
Researchers have conducted a lot of experiments to determine how our brains sense our bodies and our positions in space. Usually, they test the impact of visual cues on our perception. But in an unusual experiment, researchers tested the effect of sound and touch on our perception of the material that makes up our bodies. Specifically, the scientists wanted to see ifparticipants would believe that a body part consisted of an inanimate material.In this experiment, each participant placed his hands on a table in front of him. Then his right hand was tapped with a small hammer. Each time the hammer hit the flesh, the participant would hear the sound of a hammer striking marble. Within minutes, the person felt his hand becomingunnaturally hard and heavy, like a piece of marble. He also experienced less sensitivity. The scientists confirmed this by moving a needle in a threatening manner close to the participant’s hand and seeing how little he reacted.Unlike our position in space, the materials of our body don’t change. So the scientists were surprised to discover that our brains continually use information from our senses to update its perception of the material that composes our body. They feel this may explain why an amputee’s body can accept an artificial limb so easily.
The Compassion Pill
We usually think of pills as tools to fight disease. However, researchers at the University of California found that they could manipulate a person’s level of compassion by altering the chemical makeup of the brain. That suggests that social behavior may be influenced by biology more than we previously believed.In this experiment, participants were randomly given a pill, either tolcapone or a placebo. Usually used to treat Parkinson’s disease, tolcapone extends the effect of the brain chemical dopamine, which is linked to motivation and reward in the prefrontal cortex. Neither the experimenters nor the patients knew who received the drugs or placebos.After taking their pills, the participants were told to divide money between themselves and an unidentified stranger. Compared to the people who took a placebo, the participants who swallowed tolcapone were much more likely to share their money equally with a stranger. “We typically think of fair-mindedness as a stable characteristic, part of one’s personality,” said researcher Ming Hsu. “Our study doesn’t reject this notion, but it does show how that trait can be systematically affected bytargeting specific neurochemical pathwaysin the human brain.” The team had evidently found a switch in the brain that affects our level of compassion and fair play.
Extreme Isolation
Isolation, especially for people who are chronically lonely, can cause profound physical effects. It can cause higher rates of infection, elevated blood pressure, Alzheimer’s disease, and dementia. We don’t know exactly why it happens, but isolation provokes a severe immune response that floods our systems with stress hormones and inflammation.The most disturbing effects appear to be mental. Extreme isolation, such as that of solitary confinement, can wreak havoc with the mind. Fromslowing timeto hallucinations to deliberate brainwashing, the effects can be devastating.In 1961, a geologist on an expedition to the French Alps stayed underground without daylight for two months to observe the effects on his body. When he surfaced, his team members found that he experienced time-shifting. He thought he was counting out 120 seconds when it was actually five minutes. In another experiment in 1993, Maurizio Montalbini stayed in a cave underground for 366 days. When it was over, he thought he’d only been there 219 days. Researchers have also discovered that people isolated in darkness will usually alter their sleep-wake cycles to 36 hours awake, then 12 hours asleep. Social isolation can also produce hallucinations. Many experiments on the subject couldn’t be completed because test subjects were having such bizarre symptoms. Prisoners in solitary confinement often experience the same effects. When imprisoned in solitary in Iran, 32-year-old Sarah Shourd saw and heard lots of imaginary things. “In the periphery of my vision, I began to see flashing lights, only to jerk my head around to find that nothing was there,” wrote Shroud about her experience. “At one point, I heard someone screaming, and it wasn’t until I felt the hands of one of the friendlier guards on my face, trying to revive me, that I realizedthe screams were my own.”However, some people do cope well and possibly even thrive when isolated.
