[ad_1]
They say that laughter is the best medicine and that it is not a joke. Many studies boast of its many health benefits.
Stimulate laughter
Neuroscientists at the Emory University School of Medicine have discovered another way to help laugh even if it's just electrically triggered. Researchers have discovered a focal path in the brain that, when electrically stimulated, causes laughter.
They then discovered that even though the laughter was essentially fictional (stimulated), it always resulted in the patient feeling calm and happy, even when awake during brain surgery. The study first observed this effect in a patient with epilepsy who was undergoing such a difficult operation.
"Even well-prepared patients may panic during a waking surgical procedure, which can be dangerous," said lead author Kelly Bijanki, PhD, an badistant professor of neurosurgery.
"This patient was particularly exposed to it because of a moderate basic anxiety.After we had to be relieved of a global anesthesia, she actually started to panic.When we lit the stimulation of her cingulum she immediately declared feeling happy and relaxed, telling jokes about her family and was able to tolerate the waking process successfully. "
Their findings were later confirmed as being the same in two other patients with epilepsy undergoing diagnostic surveillance.
That's all on the cingulum package
Although this is not the first time scientists have reported that electrically stimulated parts of the brain could cause laughter, it is the impressive anti-anxiety effects seen specifically with cingulum beam stimulation that make this study so unique.
The cingulum bundle is a set of white matter fibers located under the cortex. The researchers identified a key area in this part of the brain that caused laughter and relaxation, thus making the patient much calmer.
"The patient described the experience as pleasant, relaxing and totally different from any element of her crisis or typical aura," write the authors.
"She reported an involuntary craving for laughter that started at the beginning of the stimulation and evolved into a pleasant feeling of relaxation over a few seconds of stimulation."
In later tests, the researchers explored how the first patient saw the faces and discovered that cingulum beam stimulation allowed her to interpret happier faces, an effect known to reduce depression. The other two patients tested also proved to be more positive and calmer.
Researchers believe that this new stimulation is essential for securing waking surgeries by evaluating the patient's response while keeping it calm.
"We could be more certain of the safe limits for the removal of pathological tissues and the preservation of tissues encoding essential human functions such as language, emotional or sensory functions, which can not be badessed with the sedated patient", said Bijanki.
However, the work does not stop there. Its application can be explored for other uses such as the treatment of mental health disorders and even chronic pain.
"In addition, although substantial additional studies are needed in this area, the cingulum package could become a new target for chronic deep brain stimulation therapies for anxiety disorders, mood and pain," added Bijanki.
The results are published in the Journal of Clinical Investigation.
[ad_2]
Source link
