Phobias are the most common psychiatric problems, ranging from fear of flying and heights to needles and spiders. Traditional treatment consists of psychotherapy, specifically exposure to the stimulus with attempts to control the response. Now, a new offering from Self-Study Apps purports a similar approach in the comfort of your own home.

The app goes for $2.99 and has different sections for dealing with dentists, spiders, and flying. We tested “Fear Dentists”, which should appeal to our anti-dentite readers. The app shows a picture of a teddy bear for a few seconds, then it shows a picture of the stimulus, in this case a set of teeth being threatened by a sharp implement, although you can select your own image or take a photo. Next, you use your finger to blur the evil dental picture. Following, the screen flashes between the blurred image and the teddy bear. This repeats several times, then an affirming message is displayed.

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Valkee, the Finnish maker of the recently released light headset for seasonal affective disorder, has announced positive results of a study that light shone on the brain using their music player-like device has on reaction time.

Verve Research, Finland was hired to conduct the trial on members of the Finnish national hockey league.  What they discovered was that these hockey players, already professionals in a very fast sport, improved their reaction times by around 20%, compared to the placebo group, after wearing the Valkee device for 12 minutes each morning for three weeks.

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A group of research students from the Technical University of Delft, The Netherlands, have developed a game to help children overcome their fear of dentists. The game will be played with 3D glasses and a game controller, while the children sit on the dentist’s chair. The project was initiated by Rob Kooij and the testing program was supported by many dentists.

The students have been working on this ‘serious game’ since September, but the gameplay isn’t perfect yet. In the game itself you will have to defend a row of teeth: the bad guys are represented by soda and candy, while the good guys are (of course) toothpicks, tooth paste and dental floss. The boss fight consists of a battle with a big bacteria monster. And if you open your mouth at the right moments, the game image will remain sharp. If you don’t, the image will become vague.

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As the days continue to grow shorter in the Northern Hemisphere, patients who suffer from seasonal affective disorder (SAD) will start to experience symptoms of depression. Finish company Valkee Ltd. has performed research which shows that the brain is sensitive to light, and claims that its bright light headset can help treat SAD. The CE Marked device looks like an mp3 player with earbuds, but instead of filling the patient’s head with the sounds of Lady Gaga or whatever they are playing nowadays, it pumps bright light to the brain through the ear canals.

In initial trials, 92% of patients reported that the Valkee headset reduced or completely eliminated symptoms of SAD.

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Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) has been a promising new technology that’s been undergoing trials for such disparate conditions as depression, smoking cessation, ADD, Alzheimer’s, cocaine addiction, and multiple sclerosis. Now the FDA has issued approval to Brainsway, a leader in TMS based in Israel, to evaluate the device as a therapy option for people with bipolar disorder.

The Investigational Device Exemption (IDE) that was granted will lead to a study involving nine medical centers and 120 patients.

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If you remember from your high school or college physics classes, there is a strong relationship between electricity and magnetism. Basic principles of electromagnetism have revolutionized the way we live; for example, knowledge that a wire carrying a current generates a magnetic field led to the development of motors and the discovery that moving a magnet through a loop of wire could produce electricity led to the creation of generators.

Deep transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) is a medical application of electromagnetic technology. It essentially relies on the fact that neurons communicate via chemical-electric signals; hence, like other electrical signals, neuronal communication should be able to be influenced by external magnetic fields, or pulses.

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Duke University’s Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences employs a coil positioning robot for Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation (TMS) at their Brain Stimulation Center.

The SmartMove is a robotic TMS coil positioning system, developed by Advanced Neuro Technology (ANT) that closely follows slight head movements of the patient to precisely target the same spot in the brain..

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A team at Clemson University has developed a new driving simulator that is now is being used at 11 U.S. Army, Navy and Veterans Affairs facilities around the United States and Europe. However, this simulator isn’t meant for teaching platoons how to parallel park in an Iraqi desert.

Designed specifically for rehabilitative therapy, the technology allows patients to retrain their cognitive, perceptual and physical skills through safe and realistic driving exercises. As the development team included researchers from Clemson’s psychology department, the simulators were also created in mind to study factors such as the driving capabilities and limitations of the elderly. Such data could be useful in the future to develop safer and more efficient vehicles, as well as devices that would allow the physically handicapped to drive.

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Transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) has historically been investigated as a treatment for mental diseases such as depression and rehab therapy for victims of brain injuries and impairments. Recently, though, researchers have been studying whether a little bolt of electricity to the brain can actually aid in learning. The latest study, a joint effort between the University of New Mexico and the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA), involves playing a military shooter game, designed to teach soldiers to react properly in stressful conditions by successfully gunning down enemies instead of allies.
Using a simple system consisting of electrodes, wires, wet sponges, and electricity delivered by standard 9-volt batteries, test subjects received either two milliamps or one-tenth milliamp jolts to the scalp. Subjects who received the two milliamp current were shown to increase performance twice as much as the subjects who received one-tenth of a milliamp.

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Berkeley, CA based NeuroFocus, Inc. has just announced its Mynd headset, which the company claims is the first device to wirelessly capture full-brain EEG readings. In addition to eliminating the need for gel electrodes, the Mynd headset can wirelessly transmit data via Bluetooth. While the headset was developed for use in marketing research, its technology might also be adapted for clinical use through a partnership with the European Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction consortium (TOBI).

Developed over the last three years, Mynd™ combines medical-grade technology with mobility, leapfrogging current neurological testing methods. For the first time, market researchers will be able to capture the highest quality data on consumers’ deep subconscious responses in real time wirelessly, revolutionizing mobile in-store market research and media consumption at home. NeuroFocus has also commenced building the world’s first full-brain home panels in addition to its labs. The European Tools for Brain-Computer Interaction consortium (TOBI) will utilize Mynd as their core platform to develop practical, medical-grade technology that will improve the quality of life for people with neurological disabilities.

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