Meldung

Just Can’t Get You out of My Head

We recently published a new issue of the Charité NeuroScience (CNS) Newsletter, bringing you the latest on Brain Invasion.

The brain is an amazing thing: it allows to think, feel, create and do lots of other
less-glamorous things like breathe and digest your lunch. But what’s even more
amazing is the system that our body has involved to keep it that way. This issue of
the newsletter is all about how things can fi nd their way inside our heads- for
better or for worse!

First off, have a look at our primer on the different ways in, intracortical implants
to poorly cooked food (page 3), and learn more about the body’s fi rst line of defense
(page 7-8). We also have a fi rst-hand account of a particularly sneaky invader (page
4), as well as clinical reports of foreign objects turning up where they defi nitely
shouldn’t be (page 9)! But it’s not all bad news! Recent developments have meant
that our senses can be augmented (or even repaired, pages 5 and 10), and optogenetics
has “illuminated” a whole new realm of experimental possibilities (page 13-14).
Are we ready for blending our brains and technology? We have two stories examining
the ways authors play with the idea of cyborgs (pages 11-12), as well as providing
some thought-provoking watching material (page 7).

Of course, we also have stories from the here and now on campus. What’s the point
of publishing negative results (page 19)? Are MSc students treated fairly (page 18)?
What is it like to work for a big pharma company (page 16)? And, most importantly:
what the heck is going on with those yellow buses all over campus (page 21)?

Happy reading, dear readers! We hope that this issue will stick in your head.