Actually, more recently neuroscientists have discovered and utilized viral vectors for genetic payloads capable of crossing the blood brain barrier without ultrasonic bbb disruption. By recently, I mean… It was recent as of 6 years ago when I was last working on modifying the brains of mammals with engineered viruses.
Hmm, I would say that the potential is there for that, but that there is a lot of aversion in the medical field about researching things which aren’t about fixing nonspecific problems. Like, a weird rare mutation that causes the left side of the body to have spasms? Cool! Letting people regulate their mood or appetite, even though it would potentially save millions of lives? Taboo!
So… yeah. The tech is there, the scientific community isn’t working effectively on that.
One of the projects I worked on was using optogenetics (genetic modification plus fiberoptic implant) to induce anxiety in mice via an unusual neural circuit. Lots about emotional regulation is known and controllable.
Actually, more recently neuroscientists have discovered and utilized viral vectors for genetic payloads capable of crossing the blood brain barrier without ultrasonic bbb disruption. By recently, I mean… It was recent as of 6 years ago when I was last working on modifying the brains of mammals with engineered viruses.
As I understood it ultrasonic disruption was feature as it allows to target specific brain area.
Putting aside obvious trust issues how close is current technology to correcting things like undesired emotional states?
Hmm, I would say that the potential is there for that, but that there is a lot of aversion in the medical field about researching things which aren’t about fixing nonspecific problems. Like, a weird rare mutation that causes the left side of the body to have spasms? Cool! Letting people regulate their mood or appetite, even though it would potentially save millions of lives? Taboo! So… yeah. The tech is there, the scientific community isn’t working effectively on that.
One of the projects I worked on was using optogenetics (genetic modification plus fiberoptic implant) to induce anxiety in mice via an unusual neural circuit. Lots about emotional regulation is known and controllable.