The brain’s amazing feats Science is gradually deciphering the complexity of the brain. The ability of baboons to acquire spelling skills and of bees to master abstract concepts, as well as the behavior of comatose patients’ brains, are among these new discoveries. 22 A comatose brain changes its connections By combining functional MRI with robust statistical signal processing methods, an international team has shown that the brains of comatose non-traumatized patients undergo radical reorganization. Although overall brain connectivity is preserved, local analysis shows a significant difference with healthy individuals. Regions of the brain that are usually poorly connected turn out to be well connected in comatose patients, and vice versa. The findings could help doctors establish a diagnosis in coma cases. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences November 2012 online A robot controlled by a human brain An international team has succeeded in ordering a humanoid robot to perform various tasks purely by the power of thought. Wearing a simple EEG helmet, a human ordered a robot to pick up a can, take it across the room, and put it down in a specific place. Without manual intervention, the orders were transmitted to the robot via neuronal signals oscillating at the same frequency as a flashing visual stimulus. This work could eventually help to improve the lives of tetraplegics. 21st IEEE International Symposium on Robot and Human Interactive Communication (RO-MAN), September 9 -13, 2012, Paris, France Insects are capable of abstract thought Conceptualization is not unique to humans and some other primates. Research carried out on bees shows that they too can handle concepts. The researchers who designed the study discovered that bees faced with a novel situation can simultaneously use two different concepts such as “above” or “different” when taking a decision. These groundbreaking findings show that sophisticated cognitive analysis is possible in the absence of language and despite a tiny neural architecture. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences April 2012 online Spelling is not unique to man Reading has always been studied as a linguistic skill closely related to speech. However, a study carried out on baboons shows that basic spelling abilities can be acquired without prior language skills. When shown four-letter word sequences on a touch screen, the baboons learnt to distinguish genuine English words such as BANK from non-words like TELK. The results suggest that first steps in reading depend on the ability – both in humans and primates – to recognize visual objects. Science April 2012 Wearing a simple EEG helmet, an individual was able to order a humanoid robot to carry out a task. A year at CNRS 2012
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