RNT Fall 2023 Issue

N E U RO TRANSMITTER

December Edition Issue No. 5

Welcome to NEUROTRANSMITTER Dear Neuroscience Community,

It is with great joy that we are able to present our fifth issue of the NeuroTransmitter Journal, put together for you with pride by a team of highly talented undergraduate writers, editors, and designers from Rice University. If you are interested, we highly encourage you to check out our previous issues which can be found online at https://riceneurotransmitt.wixsite.com/ riceneurotransmitter.

The goal of our journal is to promote neuroscience topics via articles written by our extremely skilled team of writers. These individuals spend an entire semester researching and crafting ideas to share with both Rice and the greater Houston community. Once they are done writing, our very meticulous team of editors comb through the articles and ensure the highest quality work is being printed. Finally, our creative powerhouses, aka team of designers, compile the work for you, our readers, to enjoy! This process takes patience, tenacity, and some good old fashioned hard work, but we are so proud to be able to work with such an incredible team.

When we first joined NeuroTransmitter as one of the very first writer and editor duos, we never expected the amount of support and encouragement that the Rice community has poured into our organization. As the now co-presidents, we thank you so much for making this journal possible and for continuing to read and enjoy the work we put out.

If you are interested in reading more, in our next issue, we will be featuring the work of some exemplary high school students who have won our annual research essay competition. We hope that you will tune into what young neuroscience students have to say about the future of the field and share our competition with both your previous high schools or any other high school aged students you think would be interested in participating!

Once again, thank you for letting us do what we love.

We hope you learn a thing or two from our articles and will stick around for more!

With many thanks, Autumn Hildebrand and Kirim Kim Rice NeuroTransmitter Co-Presidents

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01 - Letter from RNT Co-Presidents

13 - An Insight into Multiple Sclerosis

02 - Table of Contents

16 - An Interview with Dr. Jacob Robinson

03 - Dr. Flynn's Faculty Address 04 - Neuroscience BS Concentrations

05 - Picasso's Cubism: A Break from Higher Visual Processing 09 - Let's Get Real About Sleep as a College Student

19 - Molding the Mind: The Effect of Neuroplasticity on Developing Personalities 21 - Significant Strides in Alzheimer's Detection through AI

25 - RNT Staff Page 2

Hello everyone!

We are closing out another busy (some might say hectic) year for the neuroscience community at Rice. For me, it has been made more lively by two factors. First, and more personally, there was the birth of my second child, Kora Evangeline Masi-Flynn, on November 11, 2023. From this, I learned that the amount of effort to take care of two kids is more than double that of a single child (It's still worth it though!). I may try to use my theoretical background to model this super-linear phenomenon once I get some free time, presumably around 18 years from now.

The second thing that made this an exciting year was the introduction of the BS and its two concentration. The Molecular and Cellular concentration is structured as deep dive into the underlying biology of the brain, while the Computational Neuroscience concentration provides sufficient mathematical background for understanding the brain as an information processing system. Both join the existing BA, ideal for students that want a more generalist and flexible educational path. My hope is that students from all three will interact and help each other appreciate the diversity of disciplines that it takes to understand something as complicated as the brain (and to have some fun, of course).

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This past year also marked a continued expansion of the major. To put some numbers on it: in 2021-2022, 29 neuroscience majors and 15 minors in neuroscience were graduated. In 2022-2023, 46 majors and 13 minors graduated. For this academic year, we expect both to grow further. I believe part of the reason for this rising popularity of neuroscience is the community outside the classroom. If I were to write out a list of all of the neuroscience themed events that Rice students put on in the last year, I would run out of space before getting a third of the way through (I'm being literal here - I tried in the first draft of this letter). If you are a new student and want a list of the clubs that run these events, please go to my [Welcome Letter](www.flynn.rice.edu/welcome) for their summaries. Regardless, I would like to thank everyone that is doing outreach for the Houston community, raising money for disease research, learning the latest technical material outside of class, discussing important philosophical and ethical issues, coordinating the mentorship of undergraduates, and keeping a record of it all (I'm looking at you here, Neurotransmitter).

When a student arrives at Rice, they see all the interesting things that you are doing and want to join in.

In the coming year, the faculty hope to help foster this community in our own way. We are planning on building up the TA programs in select neuroscience classes; this would include more explicit training in pedagogy and project management techniques for the TAs. The end goal of this would be to foster more peer education and allow for assignments to be broken up in smaller chunks with more qualitative feedback at each step of the process.

We believe that building this institutional bridge between the older and younger students will be beneficial to both.

I am proud of everything that has been accomplished in the last year, and I can't wait to see what happens in the next!

- Dr. Jon Flynn

NEUROSCIENCE B.S. CONCENTRATIONS If you’re interested in pursuing neuroscience in depth, whether it’s understanding how the biochemistry of the brain works, or model neuroscience data, look no further: the BS for the Neuroscience major (released last spring) has a page on the general announcements with the major requirements for both the Molecular and Cellular and the Computational Neuroscience specialization.

Computational Neuroscience

Molecular and Cellular Neuroscience

If you would like more information, please read through the General Announcements page or reach out to the advisors: Behnam Aazhang (aaz@rice.edu), J. David Dickman (dd18@rice.edu), Jonathan Flynn (flynn@rice.edu), Caleb Kemere (ckemere@rice.edu), Nele Lefeldt (lefeldt@rice.edu), or Peter Y. Lwigale (lwigale@rice.edu).

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PICASSO'S U B I S M BREAK FROM

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Art has always included the dissection of the perceived world.

For artists to create visual paintings, they must distill down the world into individual colors and shapes to recreate it in a 2D format.

In the early 20th century, Pablo Picasso helped create a new art style, Cubism. Cubism is defined by its geometric, abstract break up of objects in order to represent multiple perspectives at once. At first glance, it seems that these paintings are an unfaithful representation of the world. However, Picasso argued that his paintings are a more faithful representation of the world before our brain reprocesses and reimagines the world before us.

For example, if we were to look at a set of railroad tracks, we would see them converge in the distance and diverge closest to us. However, these tracks are constantly parallel to each other, so our perception of the world is thus distorted. In Cubism, these railroad tracks would be depicted intentionally from multiple perspectives to try to minimize the effect of multiple distortions.

This relates closely to the brain’s higher-order visual processing intuitively applied to perceived visual stimuli.

Gestalt’s Law explores a range of different higher-order processing ideas in which more simplistic visual shapes are grouped into larger objects. However, if we observe Picasso’s “Head of a Woman” painting, the simple shapes and stark paint strokes force the viewer to see these smaller constituent shapes that are normally erased in favor of created larger features. Additionally, the brain has a specific area called the facial fusiform area (FFA) located in the inferior temporal cortex. The FFA is specialized for facial recognition by activating when a specific orientation of facial features is presented. Thus, when we observe other people, we don’t first notice their individual facial features but rather their face as a whole. Again, through Picasso’s painting, we observe these individual facial features more strongly than we do the overall face of the woman.

The perspective of an object is inherently a unique property.

One person’s felt reality cannot be replicated by anyone else, even when exposed to identical stimuli. This gives rise to the neuroscience philosophical principle of spectrum inversion, which states that two people can see two fundamentally different colors under the same viewing conditions but share the same color vocabulary. Thus, they remain unaware of the other’s differences in perception. Similarly, we cannot say that this art style is an unrealistic or inhuman view of the world simply because it seems different from our view of the world.

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Thereby, Cubism, as a movement, is more than an artistic innovation; it is a philosophical inquiry into the nature of reality and perception. By breaking down objects into abstract forms and reassembling them in a multidimensional space, Cubism invites us to question and redefine our understanding of the world. It serves as a reminder that our perception of reality is not merely a passive reception of visual stimuli, but an active process of interpretation, shaped by our unique experiences and perspectives. Through its bold departure from traditional art forms and its embrace of multiple viewpoints, Cubism challenges us to see the world not as it is, but as it could be – a world rich with possibilities, complexities, and diverse perspectives.

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REFERENCES

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Let's gET real ABOUT SLEEP AS a COLLEGE STUDENT 9

FOR COLLEGE STUDENTS,

BY COLLEGE STUDENTS WRITTEN BY PRIYANKA

PATEL & NANCY JOHNSON

EDITED BY AKSHARA SANKAR & MIRA SRINIVASA

DESIGNED BY KATE HILTON

WHY IS SLEEP IMPORTANT? Sleep too often becomes an afterthought for today’s young adults, with nearly 70% of college students not getting enough rest each night (Hershner & Chervin, 2014).

Though sleep deprivation is normalized on college campuses, inadequate sleep has been linked to a range of disorders and symptoms, negatively affecting all systems of the body (Worley, 2018). Particularly, sleep deprivation is connected to a decline in cognitive function, high blood pressure, obesity, type 2 diabetes, cardiovascular disease, and decreased immune function (Worley, 2018). For college-aged students, sleep deprivation is especially detrimental to academic life; those with inadequate sleep have been shown to have lower grade point averages, increased risk of academic failure, and compromised learning capabilities compared to their peers who are not consistently sleep deprived (Hershner & Chervin, 2014). Hershner and Chervin (2014) revealed that students who slept nine or more hours every night had higher GPAs (3.24) compared to GPAs (2.74) of students who slept six or less hours every night. Though students often cite that they sacrifice adequate sleep for extra time to study or do other academic activities, it is evident that consistent sleep deprivation does more harm than good to a student’s overall academic performance.

ALCOHOL AND SLEEP QUALITY Along with the amount of sleep a student gets, quality of sleep is just as important.

Many elements affect sleep quality; notability, alcohol is one of the most influential factors that decreases sleep quality among young adults. Approximately 80% of college students have consumed alcohol to varying degrees (Galbicsek, 2023) and almost half of college students report drinking alcohol in the past month (U.S Department of Health and Human Services). Often, consumption of beer,

wine, or hard liquor makes an individual feel more drowsy and sleepy, causing many to mistakenly believe that they sleep better after consuming alcohol (Alcohol and Fatigue, 2019). While it is true that alcohol’s sedative effect can make you fall asleep, studies show that sleep disturbances actually increase, and sleep quality and duration decrease after alcohol consumption (Alcohol and Fatigue, 2019).

Specifically, researchers have discovered via polysomnography–a type of sleep study–that REMS sleep is suppressed in the first half of the sleep cycle after consuming alcohol. Along with this, overall deep sleep is negatively impaired and individuals are more likely to develop sleep apnea–a condition where breathing frequently stops and starts–throughout the night. These effects occur because alcohol relaxes the upper airway muscle which increases resistance during inhalation, resulting in a higher likelihood of snoring or difficulty breathing (Park et al., 2015). Due to this, individuals are likely to feel tired and fatigued even after a full night of sleep after drinking (Pruthi et al., 2023).With college students frequently not getting enough sleep on the weekdays and then consuming alcohol on the weekends, overall sleep quality and duration among students is significantly compromised almost every day of the week, impacting a student’s overall academic performance, physical health, and social life.

ALCOHOL AND MARIJUANA Compared to more widely understood connections between alcohol and sleep quality, the link between marijuana and sleep quality is not as clear. Many believe that cannabis helps increase sleep duration and decrease the time taken to fall asleep (Vaillancourt et al., 2022). While this is true to some extent, a significant portion of evidence supporting these claims stem from participants who use marijuana medically as prescribed by a physician

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rather than recreationally; hence, evidence to support these claims originate mainly from studies of participants who only consume THC in low doses (Seo, 2023) (Gates, 2014). However, college students typically consume weed in methods that do not deliver THC to the body in this manner, including but not limited to blunts, bongs, and foods and drinks infused with marijuana (Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, 2021). These methods of consumption usually surpass the recommended low-dose amount and deliver high doses of marijuana to the body rapidly (Seo, 2023) (RISE Dispensaries, 2022). Unfortunately, high doses of THC have been shown to decrease overall sleep quality which is especially problematic for students who already are not getting enough sleep to begin with (Seo, 2023).

Additionally, students are at high risk of becoming dependent on marijuana to ward off withdrawal symptoms after becoming tolerant to the substance, meaning they need to take more and more to achieve the same effect (Seo, 2023). Unfortunately, these high doses offer none of the benefits offered by controlled and low doses of medical or recreational marijuana. In fact, like a hangover caused by alcohol, a new term coined “weed hangover” has recently been gaining traction to describe the symptoms felt by users the morning after consuming large doses of marijuana (Seo, 2023). Mainly, individuals with a “weed hangover” experience symptoms such as fatigue, headache, dry eyes, and mouth (Seo, 2023). Along with this, the co-use of alcohol and marijuana, also fairly common among college students, severely compromises quality and duration of sleep along with neurocognitive performance, attention, executive function, learning, and memory (Bedillion et al., 2021) Together, it is evident that high-dose marijuana use among college students significantly decreases a student’s sleep health.

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IMPACTS OF SLEEP DEPRIVATION Sleep plays a vital role in brain function and systemic physiology across many body systems. When people don't get enough sleep, their attention and concentration abilities decline. Their reaction time lengthens, they become inattentive, and they don't respond as well to environmental signals. As a result, they can't take in new information or react to dangerous situations. Other short-term effects of sleep deprivation include drowsiness, forgetfulness, distractibility, decreased performance and alertness, and memory and cognitive impairment, all of which can severely impact a college student’s academic performance.

With consistent lack of sleep, long-term effects including high blood pressure, heart attack, stroke, obesity, diabetes, and psychiatric problems such as depression,anxiety, and dementia can emerge (Gottlieb et al., 2005).

Specifically, sleep insufficiency may increase risk for obesity by causing lower levels of leptin, a hormone produced by an adipose tissue hormone that suppresses appetite, and higher levels of ghrelin, a peptide that stimulates appetite (Mosavat et al., 2021). In the Sleep Heart Health Study, which is a community-based cohort, adults who reported 5 hours of sleep or less were 2.5 times more likely to have diabetes, compared with those who slept 7 to 8 hours per night (Gottlieb et al., 2005). Those reporting 6 hours per night were about 1.7 times more likely to have diabetes. There are also long-term effects of cognition and memory. Another study suggests that even getting less than 6 hours of sleep per night may increase your dementia risk by 30% in the future (Sabia, 2021). Sleep deprivation can have serious impacts on cognitive and bodily function if we don’t address it.

SCIENCE OF TAKING A PERFECT NAP While consistent, uninterrupted deep sleep is the only long-term solution for the consequences of inadequate rest, power naps can provide temporary boosts of energy to get through the day for those who struggle to get enough sleep. Power naps have been shown to increase cognitive ability and alertness in even those who do get enough rest at night.

“The perfect nap” may vary from person to person based on different sleep schedules and natural biological tendencies. However, here are some general tips to optimize your power nap: 1. Aim to take a power nap midday: if you nap later than 3 p.m., it could negatively impact your ability to fall asleep that night.

2. Don’t let the sleep inertia hit. This is usually around the 30-minute mark. A 26-minute nap called the “NASA nap” showed alertness improvements of up to 54 percent and job-performance improvements by 34 percent (Hilditch, 2019). NASA has extensively researched what an effective nap looks like for people who need to maintain high performance throughout the day.

3. Consider drinking a cup of coffee or caffeinated tea before your power nap— also known as a “coffee nap." Sure, it may sound counterintuitive, but keep in mind that the caffeine won’t kick in until 20 to 30 minutes have passed, which is right around when you’ll be waking up.

4. Try to be in a reclined position and, more importantly, make sure your head is in a comfortable position atop a cushion of some sort (ideally a pillow).

5. Eliminate distractions. Try to find a quiet room with minimal chances to overhear chatter; turn off your computer and lights; and silence your notifications.

6. Set an alarm on your clock or phone— don’t let yourself oversleep!

As difficult as it is to prioritize sleep, the advantages of going to bed early and getting quality sleep every night are very real. While power naps are a great option, they are not a long-term solution to inadequate sleep, which can greatly detriment your mental and physical health as a college student. Aim to get your seven to nine hours consecutively at night rather than through frequent naps.

All together, lack of sleep is often associated with hard work and dedication in college, but is it really doing more good than harm? As shown, inadequate sleep decreases a student’s academic performance significantly. Coupled with marijuana and alcohol consumption, a student’s sleep health is severely compromised. The next time you find yourself grabbing an eye opener at night, ready to settle down into the stacks of Fondy for a long night of studying, see if a compromise can be made. Sleep well!

REFERENCES

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An Insight into Multiple Sclerosis WRITTEN

BY DHEERJ JASUJA

EDITED

BY SRIKAR SIRIPURAM

DESIGNED

BY KIRTHI CHANDRA

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“What can I do to be the strongest I can be today?” This is one of the many questions Jim tackles every morning as someone living with Multiple Sclerosis (“Personal Stories: Affected by MS,” 2021). While he may require a wheelchair, Jim is so much more than his diagnosis. He is an advocate, a husband, and a father who shows up for his family and community. For example, despite his condition, he is determined to dance at his daughters’ weddings one day. However, he was diagnosed with Multiple Sclerosis (MS) in 1998, and MS was first recognized as a distinct disease in 1868 (“MS History,” n.d.), but there is still no cure for the condition.

To develop potential treatments and cures, scientists have worked tirelessly to characterize the biology of MS. Broadly speaking, there are four stages of MS. Clinically isolated syndrome consists of a single episode that may or may not recur. If it recurs, then the patient has relapsing-remitting MS which is characterized by repeated flare-ups that fortunately do not worsen.

However, patients often end up progressing to secondary progressive MS in which the MS does not fully disappear between flare-ups and generally worsens. Finally, about ten percent of patients have primary progressive MS in which their MS worsens steadily without flare-ups or remission periods (Madell, 2023). Clearly, MS is a versatile ailment that presents differently for every patient. However, the biology of MS is a little more straightforward.

On a molecular level, MS is an immune-mediated disease that affects the brain and spinal cord, which comprise the central nervous system. As visualized in Figure 1, our immune system attacks myelin sheaths — fatty tissues that increase the rate of communication between neurons — causing nerve damage that can lead to symptoms ranging from blurry vision to mobility issues.

The cause of MS is not fully known, but it is thought to be a combination of genetic and environmental factors. For example, a gene on chromosome 6p21, exposure to Epstein-Barr virus, and low vitamin D have been linked to MS (Tobin, 2022). Fortunately, we have a much better understanding of the molecular mechanisms that contribute to MS. Patients with MS exhibit increased levels of inflammatory white blood cells. The prolonged inflammation disrupts the blood-brain barrier, allowing autoreactive T cells to enter the central nervous system. These T cells induce damage to the myelin through oxidative stress, cytokine activity, and more ( “Immunology of MS,” n.d.).

Figure 1. Depiction of the impact MS has on the myelin sheaths of axons (Tobin, 2022).

Our detailed understanding of the cause of demyelination has led to the development of several treatments that can improve the health of patients with MS. For example, disease moderating therapies lower immune system activity to reduce the severity of MS flare-ups (Wexler, 2023). Additionally, haematopoietic stem cell transplantation (HSCT) is used to “reset” the immune system. Essentially, a donor provides stem cells that develop into healthy immune cells, mitigating MS symptoms.

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However, sometimes patients’ bodies reject the donated cells, which is why the safest form of HSCT is autologous haematopoietic stem cell treatment (aHSCT). aHSCT involves removing harmful immune cells while growing new immune cells with your own bone marrow (“HSCT,” n.d.).

While these treatments are amazing, they do not reverse the damage from MS. They serve to reduce future symptoms and manage the disease, but a new study has proposed a biomarker for remyelination. Caverzasi et al. (2023) used MRI to see how myelin water fraction changes when patients are exposed to clemastine (a remyelinating compound). As shown in Figure 3, they found that myelin water fraction increases with the remyelinating therapy. This provides direct, image-based evidence of myelin repair (Caverzasi et al., 2023). This is a significant step in the fight against MS as this new biomarker can be used in future clinical trials. Thus, pharmaceutical companies can have a better insight into the effects their drugs have on patients.

Figure 2. MRI results that depict myelin water fraction for patients exposed to clemastine. Whether given clemastine for the first three months after baseline measurements (top left box) or three to five months after baseline (bottom right box), patients exhibited more normal myelin water fraction than without the drug (Caverzasi et al., 2023)

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Nonetheless, it still may take years for a cure to MS to be developed. Fortunately, there are many ways we can get involved right now.

Volunteering at the Houston Luncheon for Multiple Sclerosis and Walk MS: Houston are great ways to raise money for MS research and support services. Further, there are opportunities to volunteer with the Multiple Sclerosis Foundation to raise awareness about MS. These initiatives directly benefit patients like Jim, helping him and others live with and manage their MS. While we wait for the MS cure that researchers are tirelessly endeavoring to find, we should do what we can to support patients like Jim. REFERENCES

An Interview with Dr. Jacob Robinson Written by Ana Beatriz Contrucci Edited by Ryan Wang

Dr. Jacob Robinson, Professor of Electrical and Computer Engineering and Associate Professor in Bioengineering at Rice, has spent his career working with complex nanotechnology to measure and manipulate neuroactivity. In April 2022, Dr. Robinson temporarily stepped away from teaching at Rice University to focus on the development of his company, Motif Neurotech, which is making significant strides in the industry by bringing minimally invasive bioelectronics to the commercial market. Motif Neurotech's devices hold the potential to revolutionize brain stimulation treatments for patients with various brain disorders, as they may allow for comfortable at-home treatment processes that are just as effective as current clinical procedures. In light of Motif Neurotech’s exciting new research, I had the opportunity to sit down with Dr. Robinson to discuss how he has successfully built upon his research and academic interests to get to this point in his career. hi

As a freshman in college, Dr. Robinson did not begin working directly with neuroscience, but he knew he wanted to make meaningful discoveries in the understanding of the universe. “I was really intrigued by physics and the idea that we could somehow develop mathematical representations that would describe the world around us,” he detailed. After delving into nanoscale research and going to graduate school in physics, Dr. Robinson was introduced to the idea that there are similar unknown questions about ourselves, and was hopeful that “it could be possible to have the same mathematical understanding that we strive for the universe, but have that of our own experience, of Designed by Grace Park

our own subjective reality.” Dr. Robinson then went on to take on a postdoctoral position after finishing his PhD. There, he blended the worlds of nanoscale technology and neural pathways, allowing him to explore the fascinating research question: “could we not only understand the circuits that give rise to our own experiences, but could we build interfaces to help measure and manipulate [them]?”

Ever since he became a faculty member at Rice in 2012, Dr. Robinson has been committed to exploring this question. His team at the Robinson Lab has developed cutting-edge technologies over the past decade, including implantable devices that can precisely control neural circuitry and nanophotonic microscopes for high-precision brain imaging in freely moving animals. When asked how he got started with all the different projects in his lab, Dr. Robinson attributed the excitement of his students and their diverse interests to the various research fields his lab is involved in. “I needed to build systems to do experiments, so we started kind of in three directions: we started in microfluidics so we could build technologies to manipulate cells on a chip to record and control their activity, we started in magnetics because I believe that magnetic fields could be a powerful way to interact with

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nanostructures in three dimensions…and we started working on photonics…with the idea that optical techniques combined with computational imaging would also give us a unique way to record activity inside the brain.” Making significant strides in its early years, the Robinson Lab continues to be an integral part of the Neuroengineering Initiative at Rice. However, Dr. Robinson decided in early 2022 that he needed to step away from his lab for a while to take the next step in his work.

Recognizing the tremendous potential in his lab's research, Dr. Robinson knew he had to temporarily step away from his role at Rice to expand the reach of the devices he was working on. He knew that a core focus of his company, Motif Neurotech, would be to build minimally invasive brain stimulation devices that could be more effective in helping those with mental health disorders. Most importantly, he wanted Motif Neurotech’s cutting-edge work to be accessible to everyone. In walking through the process of building up his company, Dr. Robinson described that, “to take that next step, it requires significantly more resources both in terms of the talent and the money to build a device that gets through the FDA and into a clinical population.”

After founding Motif Neurotech, Dr. Robinson wasn’t planning on being CEO, though. He specified how he “didn't know anything about business and starting a company” but “kind of fell into it,” and being CEO became “a natural extension of the work that [he] had been doing.”

Under his guidance, Motif Neurotech has been developing some interesting and groundbreaking innovations over the last year and a half.

Motif Neurotech's first paper, currently in the peer-review process, outlines the creation of the first ever implantable, millimeter-sized, wireless brain stimulator for large-animal models. This device utilizes neuromodulation techniques, which involve the artificial activation or inhibition of

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neural circuits. Neuromodulation is an extremely important method in the field as it has demonstrated promise as an effective treatment for various conditions, including Parkinson's Disease and depression. The device's specific design, including its small size and its use of magnetic fields to transmit power, enables it to stimulate the brain's surface without any direct contact. Dr. Robinson detailed that the wireless power transfer was a significant design component because it eliminated the need for batteries, which is the biggest component of an implantable device.

The next step in the process was testing it out on live animals. “We built our prototypes and we wanted to demonstrate that what we had built could actually have enough energy to stimulate a brain network in a human, despite the fact that our device is only about the size of the pea,” he said.

The prototype of Motif Neurotech’s miniscule, implantable brain stimulator from their pre-print article.

To test if the device worked in human models, Dr. Robinson described how Motif Neuotech’s team “found people who are willing to participate in that research,” took them into the operating room, and “placed [the device] over the dura, which is this membrane that's above the brain.” The researchers were not completely sure if the device’s signals would be strong enough to stimulate the brain, but “sure enough…when we turned it on over the motor cortex,we stimulated that network strongly enough to cause the patient to begin to move their fingers, and that showed us that we were

really activating a brain network very precisely, very reliably,” described Dr. Robinson. The team at Motif Neurotech then fully implanted their device in pig models to test if it would be effective over a long period of time, and found “that [they] could stimulate that motor cortex in the pig just like [they] did in the human, or [they] could do it over 30 days after it's been implanted.”

Dr. Robinson was enthusiastic about the next steps of Motif Neurotech’s project and specified that the team is now focusing on translating their technology to clinical trials. These trials could eventually lead to FDA approval for chronic implantation in humans, which can make neuromodulation treatments more effective, long-lasting, and comfortable for patients with various mental health or brain disorders.

Specifically, he hopes that the device will be able to aid patients suffering from major depressive disorder who do not respond to drug treatments.

Motif Neurotech is a relatively new company, but having such a successful experiment as outlined in their paper and over $50 million in federal funding for their research speaks to its success. I asked Dr. Robinson if he had any advice for Rice students who would be interested in pursuing research and developing their work into a startup. “The process of building a company is dramatic, traumatic, challenging, thrilling, exciting,” he said. “I think the most important thing to do is to begin to build a network of people who are going to be your supporters and advocates.” Dr. Robinson emphasized that different resources around Rice— such as LILIE and the Biotech Launch Pad—could be great resources for students interested in diving deeper into the world of biotech-based industry. hi

Neuroengineering Initiative are some of the best starting points for students, and for those who just want to learn some more about the field, he recommended the Intro to Neuroengineering course the neuroscience department offers. Dr. Robinson also pointed out that Motif Neurotech would also be very receptive to Rice students. “I encourage anybody who's interested in joining the company or interning to reach out,” he said. “We’ll be growing pretty significantly over the next few years, and with my Rice affiliation, I want to be able to give opportunities to folks at Rice to get involved…I would love to be able to be that kind of resource for the Rice community.”

The developments being made at the Robinson Lab and at Motif Neurotech show us just how possible it is to bridge the gap between cutting-edge neurotechnological advancements and widespread accessibility. In addition, Dr. Robinson’s work allows us to envision a future where brain-based treatments once deemed impossible become a reality. Dr. Robinson's remarkable journey, from an undergraduate student curious about the world around him to founder and CEO of a lead neurotechnology company, gives us an inspiring look into how we can change the world by pursuing what we are passionate about.

References

Dr. Robinson ended by highlighting the importance of getting involved with research around Houston, whether it's through labs or industry, for students interested in neuroelectrics.

He specified that the labs in the Rice

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Molding the Mind: The Effect of Neuroplasticity on Developing Personalities Written by Melody Hong, Edited by Dhilani Premaratne, & Designed by Grace Park In the hustle and bustle that is college life, every interaction, relationship, personal challenge, and decision shapes our identity. During this time, our personalities – who we are and what we stand for – solidify and what was previously habit becomes practice. However, in truth, the visible changes that we observe on the surface are merely reflections of deeper, underlying transformations. In our college years, nothing about us stops to take a rest – especially not our brains which are constantly evolving and rewiring in response to new challenges and experiences. Neuroplasticity, the brain’s ability to change and adapt due to experience, plays a pivotal role during the formative years of adolescence and early adulthood.

Understanding Neuroplasticity: How Does it Work?

During the first few years of our lives, the number of synapses (small gaps between neurons where nerve impulses are relayed increases rapidly. This process continues as we grow older. In the adolescent years, our brain undergoes a high degree of synaptic pruning where unnecessary connections are eliminated while stronger connections are reinforced. During this stage, our brains are also very sensitive to external environmental stimuli, including social interactions, learning, and rewarding or punishing stimuli. These parallel occurrences enable the brain to shape our individual cognitive functions, behaviors, and overall neural network.

In addition, the adolescent brain is also associated with elevated activation of reward-relevant brain areas where stimuli, positive or negative, can have a greater impact on what experiences are retained. The coordinated activity between different brain regions becomes responsible for our emotions and logical thinking. Of course, the implication of risk-taking is also more present during these years when the areas for inhibitory control are also still developing. These findings in understanding the relationship between personality and neuroplasticity have primarily been facilitated by imaging technologies like MRI (Magnetic Resonance imaging). Even so, the disparity between limited task-related responses observed in these studies and real-world behaviors make it difficult to estimate the exact behavior of people at this stage of life. This challenge clearly marks the need to explore observable personality-related perspectives in order to bridge this gap.

The Visible and Not-So-Visible Changes of Neuroplasticity in College Students The heightened plasticity of the brain makes college students particularly susceptible to environmental influences, shaping our neural pathways and consequently, our personalities. Positive and negative day-to-day experiences play a vital role in molding these pathways, influencing emotional regulation, decision-making processes, and social behaviors.

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Neuroplasticity allows our brains to adapt and change, enabling us to handle stress more effectively, develop empathy, and enhance interpersonal relationships, which is especially relevant for college students trying to navigate complex social environments. In addition, resilience is a trait built through effective coping mechanisms, contributing to improved overall mental well-being.

So, what exactly is the neuroscience which allows for these surface-level adjustments? As an example, repeated exposure to stressors reinforces neural circuits associated with better stress responses, which influences long-term management patterns. These types of day-to-day occurrences that excite specific positive patterns of neural activity reinforces something called Hebbian plasticity — a principle of neuroplasticity. According to this principle, neural connections that are repeatedly activated together become associated, or “cells that fire together wire together”. The plasticity during adolescence also allows for dynamic modulation of neurotransmitters (which play a crucial role in transmitting signals between neurons) in response to experiences. So, positive experiences could enhance release of a neurotransmitter like serotonin, which contributes to improved mood and overall well-being. In addition, the prefrontal cortex (which is responsible for decision-making and impulse control) undergoes significant change that is influenced by the feedback to decisions we make. Emotional events tend to be more memorable, influencing the consolidation of memories and learning, which in turn facilitates the formation of long-lasting behavioral patterns.

How can we Harness Neuroplasticity in a Positive Manner?

Let’s say someone may be struggling with how to change a pessimistic mindset. Understanding the neuroscience behind neuroplasticity may be the key to initiating that process. Since the process of actively engaging in self-appreciating behaviors and thoughts allows us to influence our brain’s plasticity, there have certainly been proposed ways to rewire our brains for more optimistic thinking by harnessing the power of neuroplasticity. The goal is certainly not simply to “be happier”, but to actively reshape the brain’s neural pathways through intentional and beneficial practices. For example, a great first step would be to recognize and consciously address pessimistic thinking when it happens. It could be helpful to write any negative thoughts down and analyze the evidence for and against them. Then, we can challenge these thoughts by considering alternative, more optimistic perspectives. This leads to positive visualization – imagining promising outcomes and experiences – and in turn activates brain regions associated with goal-setting and favorable emotions, contributing to the formation of new neural connections related to more encouraging thinking. It can definitely also be helpful to also practice gratitude regularly by consciously acknowledging and appreciating the rosy aspects of life, spending time with people who bring us joy and positive influence and repeating affirmations to counteract negative self-talk. Focusing on these actions strengthens the neural connections associated with positive experiences. By embracing the profound implications of neuroplasticity, we are able to delve into a world of limitless possibilities, where intentional efforts to shape our thoughts and behavior lead to long-lasting personal transformation.

References

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Significant Strides in Alzheimer's Detection through AI WRITTEN

BY ABHISHEK KONA

EDITED

BY TRINITY EIMER

DESIGNED

BY KIRTHI CHANDRA 21

In recent years, the transformative potential of Machine Learning (ML) and Artificial Intelligence (AI) in healthcare has become increasingly evident. As one example, ML and AI show tremendous promise in the early detection of Alzheimer's disease. Leveraging advanced algorithms, researchers have identified subtle patterns and biomarkers indicative of Alzheimer's, even at its earliest stages. Furthermore, the integration of ML in remote monitoring holds the key to timely interventions and improved patient outcomes, where artificial intelligence induced in devices and sensors can transform periodic subjective assessments into more frequent or even continuous objective monitoring in neurological diseases.

Significant Strides in Alzheimer's Detection through AI A landmark 2020 study titled "Natural speech reveals the semantic maps that tile human cerebral cortex," showcased the power of machine learning models in detecting early signs of Alzheimer's through speech patterns. Published in the prestigious journal Nature Medicine, this groundbreaking research demonstrated that AI algorithms can analyze speech data to identify linguistic markers associated with cognitive decline, providing a non-invasive and potentially revolutionary tool for early diagnosis. The study had used advanced machine learning and natural language processing tools to assess speech patterns in 206 individuals, of whom 114 had mild cognitive impairment and 92 were unimpaired. Participants recorded descriptions of artwork, allowing researchers to analyze conversational abilities using AI for features like speech motor control, idea density, and grammatical complexity. Ultimately, the findings were significant in detecting early signs of Alzheimer's disease, especially when traditional cognitive assessments may not reveal them.

Beyond Alzheimer's, machine learning has also shown remarkable success in diagnosing other neurodegenerative diseases. The USC Mark and Mary Stevens Neuroimaging and Informatics Institute launched a $3 million ENIGMA-PD study to analyze brain imaging, genetics, and clinical data in Parkinson’s disease (PD). This study challenged conventional wisdom about PD and suggests the presence of multiple PD subtypes with different courses and treatments.

ENIGMA-PD aims to investigate whether treatments can slow down the progression of brain tissue loss and clinical decline in PD, with a focus on genetic factors, demonstrating that machine learning algorithms could assist in the diagnosis of Parkinson's disease.

Epilepsy, another complex neurological condition, has also benefited from AI integration. A study published in the Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery, and Psychiatry, "AI for EEG-based Epilepsy Diagnosis: A Review of the Literature," highlighted the potential for AI, including chatbots, to aid in the diagnosis and management of epilepsy. By analyzing electroencephalogram (EEG) data, AI algorithms can detect subtle patterns indicative of epileptic activity, enabling more precise diagnosis and personalized treatment plans.

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AI Support for Mental Health In addition to neurological disorders, AI has made significant strides in supporting mental health.

For example, AI-powered chatbots may be useful for mental health support. A study published in Journal of Medical Internet Research in November 2022 examined the effectiveness of a mental health chatbot in reducing depressive symptoms for COVID. The results indicated that AI-driven interventions can play a valuable role in providing accessible and personalized mental health support, particularly in times of limited resources.

Early detection of mental health issues is crucial for effective intervention and improved outcomes. AI algorithms can analyze a wide range of data, including social media activity, online interactions, and sensor data from smartphones or wearables, to identify potential signs of mental distress. By recognizing patterns indicative of anxiety, depression, or other mental health disorders, AI-powered tools can prompt timely outreach and connect individuals with appropriate resources.

Additionally, AI-driven chatbots and virtual mental health assistants have emerged as accessible and non-judgmental avenues for seeking help. These chatbots use natural language processing to engage in conversations with users, providing immediate support and resources. American Psychological Association has shown that individuals may be more open and candid when interacting with AI, reducing the stigma associated with seeking mental health assistance.

Moreover, AI has the capacity to analyze vast amounts of data to create personalized treatment plans tailored to an individual's unique needs. By considering factors such as genetic predispositions, lifestyle, and response to previous interventions, AI can recommend specific therapies, medications, or lifestyle changes that are more likely to be effective. This personalized approach not only enhances treatment outcomes but also minimizes the trial-and-error process often associated with mental health care.

AI-powered crisis prevention tools monitor for signs of imminent mental health crises, providing timely alerts to caregivers, clinicians, or emergency services. For example, chatbots can deliver therapeutic tools for patients, providing interventions like cognitive behavioral therapy and aiding those with anxiety, sleep problems, or chronic pain. Some concerns remain regarding AI's cultural competency, informed consent, and privacy of patients' data. These systems can detect changes in behavior, tone, or language that may indicate a person is in distress. By enabling early intervention, AI can help prevent crises and facilitate prompt access to appropriate care.

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Conclusion While the potential benefits of AI in healthcare are substantial, ethical considerations must be at the forefront of this transformative journey. Ensuring patient privacy, informed consent, and transparency in AI algorithms are critical aspects that demand careful attention. Collaborations between leading institutions like Baylor College of Medicine's Alzheimer's Disease and Memory Disorders Center, Rice University's Alzheimer Buddies, and the Neuroengineering program at Rice are invaluable in shaping ethical guidelines and driving responsible AI adoption in healthcare.

Issues like informed consent, privacy of patients’ data, and the variability in AI-generated responses are deemed to arise. AI in mental health is not as culturally competent as a real clinician, potentially affecting its inclusivity and effectiveness across diverse populations. These concerns highlight the need for careful consideration and regulation in integrating AI into mental health practices to ensure patient safety.

"With the ability to identify subtle patterns and biomarkers, these technologies offer new hope for timely interventions and improved patient outcomes."

The integration of AI and ML in the early detection of Alzheimer's disease represents a watershed moment in healthcare. With the ability to identify subtle patterns and biomarkers, these technologies offer new hope for timely interventions and improved patient outcomes. As we navigate this transformative landscape, it is imperative to approach AI deployment with careful consideration of ethical implications. By combining cutting-edge research with ethical frameworks, we can unlock the full potential of AI in revolutionizing the diagnosis and management of neurological disorders.

REFERENCES

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St a f 25

EXECUTIVE TEAM

Co-Presidents

Autumn Hildebrand

Kirim Kim

Co-Vice Presidents

Arunima Jaiswal

Head Writer

Head Editor

Design Head

Hayley Jue

Abhinav Kona

Kate Hilton

Melody Hong

Nancy Johnson

Ana Contrucci

Nikhil Mummaneni

WRITERS

Dheerj Jasuja

Priyanka Patel

Lindsey Ran

Abhishek Kona

EDITORS

Ryan Wang

Trinity Eimer

Mira Srinivasa

Srikar Siripuram

DESIGNERS

Kirthi Chandra

Grace Park

Dhilani Premaratne

Akshara Sankar

RICE UNIVERSITY