Ultrasound finds the exact source of pain and thoughts in the head

The main problem of modern neuroscience is the difficulty of studying healthy people. Doctors usually use MRI or electroencephalograms (EEGs). These methods are good, but they only give a general picture: we see which zones are active, but we cannot say with certainty whether they create consciousness or simply react to it.

Focused ultrasound changes the familiar image. It works differently: acoustic waves pass through the bones of the skull and gather in a beam in a very small area, only a few millimeters in size. Ultrasound allows you to turn on or off specific areas of the brain without surgery. Daniel Freeman, one of the authors of the project, notes that it is now possible to safely manipulate deep structures that previously only neurosurgeons could reach during operations.

In the scientific community, there are two main views on the nature of our mind. Proponents of cognitive theory believe that self-awareness requires complex thought processes involving the frontal cortex and combining information from the entire brain. Another group believes that consciousness is born locally, in the back of the head, and does not require complex data processing.

The new tool will put an end to this dispute. By directing ultrasound to different areas, experts will be able to understand whether it is necessary to involve the entire brain in order for a person to see light or feel an emotion, or whether the activity of one small area is enough.

For people interested in health, the most important aspect is to study the mechanism of pain. We know that the hand pulls away from the hot stove reflexively, even before we have time to be afraid. Where exactly is this center that transmits signals to us?

Matthias Michel, a co-author of the paper, highlights the importance of this issue. Pain can occur in the cerebral cortex or hide in deeper, subcortical structures. If doctors accurately identify these points using ultrasound, it will open the way to the creation of fundamentally new methods of pain relief and treatment of chronic conditions. The team is now preparing for the first tests, starting with the effects on the visual cortex in order to build a complete map of how we perceive the world around us.