Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience
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Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience Series editor Mario Manto Division of Neurosciences, Department of Neurology, CHU-Charleroi, Charleroi, Belgium, University of Mons, Mons, Charleroi, Belgium Contemporary Clinical Neurosciences bridges the gap between bench research in the neurosciences and clinical neurology work by offering translational research on all aspects of the human brain and behavior with a special emphasis on the understanding, treatment, and eradication of diseases of the human nervous system. These novel, state-of-the-art research volumes present a wide array of preclinical and clinical research programs to a wide spectrum of readers representing the diversity of neuroscience as a discipline. The book series considers proposals from leading scientists and clinicians. The main audiences are basic neuroscientists (neurobiologists, neurochemists, geneticians, experts in behavioral studies, neurophysiologists, neuroanatomists), clinicians (including neurologists, psychiatrists and specialists in neuroimaging) and trainees, graduate students, and PhD students. Volumes in the series provide in-depth books that focus on neuroimaging, ADHD (attention defcit hyperactivity disorder and other neuropsychiatric disorders, neurodegenerative diseases, G protein receptors, sleep disorders, addiction issues, cerebellar disorders, and neuroimmune diseases. The series aims to expand the topics at the frontiers between basic research and clinical applications. Each volume is available in both print and electronic form. More information about this series at http://www.springer.com/series/7678 Ioan Opris • Mikhail A. Lebedev Manuel F. Casanova Editors Modern Approaches to Augmentation of Brain Function Editors Ioan Opris Mikhail A. Lebedev Department of Neurosurgery Center for Bioelectrical Interfaces University of Miami National Research University Higher Miami, FL, USA School of Economics Moscow, Russia Manuel F. Casanova Greenville Health System University of South Carolina Greenville, SC, USA ISSN 2627-535X ISSN 2627-5341 (electronic) Contemporary Clinical Neuroscience ISBN 978-3-030-54563-5 ISBN 978-3-030-54564-2 (eBook) https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-54564-2 © Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2021 This work is subject to copyright. All rights are reserved by the Publisher, whether the whole or part of the material is concerned, specifcally the rights of translation, reprinting, reuse of illustrations, recitation, broadcasting, reproduction on microflms or in any other physical way, and transmission or information storage and retrieval, electronic adaptation, computer software, or by similar or dissimilar methodology now known or hereafter developed. The use of general descriptive names, registered names, trademarks, service marks, etc. in this publication does not imply, even in the absence of a specifc statement, that such names are exempt from the relevant protective laws and regulations and therefore free for general use. The publisher, the authors, and the editors are safe to assume that the advice and information in this book are believed to be true and accurate at the date of publication. Neither the publisher nor the authors or the editors give a warranty, expressed or implied, with respect to the material contained herein or for any errors or omissions that may have been made. The publisher remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affliations. This Springer imprint is published by the registered company Springer Nature Switzerland AG The registered company address is: Gewerbestrasse 11, 6330 Cham, Switzerland Ioan “John” Opris (1957–2020) Dr. Ioan Opris, a well-known international scholar and an enthusiast of brain aug- mentation research, passed away in Miami, FL, on October 16, 2020. He is survived by his children Ioan Opris Jr. and Iris Mihaela Opris as well as by his loving wife Anca Liliana Opris. Ioan Opris was born in Barsana, Maramures County, Romania, and received both his undergraduate and PhD degrees in Physics/Biophysics from the University of Bucharest. In 1990, Ioan began his academic career as an assistant professor within the Faculty of Physics at the University of Bucharest. Years later he would introduce to his university a Master of Neuroscience course and establish together with Professor Ioana Moisil the Romanian Society of Neural Networks. In 1995, Ioan started his neuroscience research in the USA by working with Professor Randall Nelson (University of Tennessee, Memphis) on the role of the neostriatum in coding movement kinematics and motor control. Later work with Professor Vincent Ferrera from Columbia University would lead him to a McDonnell Pew Award (2000) on the neural correlates of decision mechanisms by the prefrontal cortex. He further pursued the work of his McDonnell Pew Award in the laborato- ries of Professors Charles Bruce and Patricia Goldman-Rakic at Yale University. Ioan then moved to Wake Forest University as a scientifc researcher in the labora- tory of Dr. Sam Deadwyler. In this laboratory he expanded his expertise of memory prosthetics. Ioan’s academic career began to soar as he participated in several articles demonstrating the functional role of the prefrontal cortical minicolumns in executive control. His studies demonstrated the restoration of cognitive function through a neuroprosthesis that used neural activation specifc to the minicolumn in the prefrontal cortex of nonhuman primates. His interest in brain augmentation led to a collection of research publications which won the 2017 Frontiers Spotlight Award. Ioan’s focus on cortical modularity established him as an heir to Vernon Mountcastle. He used to think of the stereotyped translaminar connections of the cell minicolumn in striking analogy to the quantum jumps of electrons across differ- ent energy levels. This conceptualization propelled Ioan into the exploration of the physics of the mind and brain disorders. This effort culminated in a book for which the Romanian Academy of Sciences bestowed the distinguished Nicolae Simionescu award. At the time of his death, Ioan was an associate professor at the University of Miami working for the Department of Biomedical Engineering and the Miami Project to Cure Paralysis. Along with Brian Noga, Jim Guest, and Vance Lemon, he studied locomotor behavior using a wide range of tools, including the multichannel recording of brainstem neuronal activity combined with optogenetics and deep brain stimulation. In his unquenchable curiosity, Ioan Opris was the archetype of the Renaissance man. His mind was always active. He drew ideas from a signifcant number of com- plex subjects to solve specifc problems. By keeping an open mind, he was always excited about what the world of neuroscience would bring and how he could explore the same. Indeed, according to Ioan, “It must be a fascinating concert, that of the mind paralleled by the brain’s physiology. I dreamed of articulating for the feld this concert for forty years.” We have to believe that in the end his biggest academic regret was that there was so much more left to be explored. Goodbye good friend, until we meet again, Manny and Misha Dedication This book is dedicated to Dr. Jon Howard Kaas who helped to unravel the organiza- tion of the mammalian brain, articulated the workings of many domains of the cere- bral cortex, and promoted the idea of neuroplasticity. It took someone with the skills of a polymath of the neurosciences to mold our views of the sensory and motor brain systems, while revealing how, from an evolutionary standpoint, their organization is altered during brain development. As heir to Socrates in asking all of the pertinent question, Jon Howard Kaas opened the door that many others would follow. Indeed, the feld of brain augmentation now solidly stands on the shoulders of a giant. Many neuroscientists support the reductionist approach; “You, your joys and your sorrows, your memories and ambitions, your sense of personal identity and free will are in fact no more than the behavior of a vast assembly of nerve cells and their associated molecules” (Crick 1995). Jon Kaas and others have proposed a utopian dream where technological advancements will allow us to surpass some of the limitations of our biological brain. External interventions are fnally upholding the tenet of the self-help community in that we can do better than we are born with. The static properties of the elemental constituents of the brain are, in this regard, an end to manipulations engendering the emergence of unforeseen properties. Foreword I have been invited to provide a brief introduction to this important volume on mod- ern approaches to augmentation of brain function. Although I am not an expert on this topic and I feel fortunate having been invited to contribute a chapter to this volume, I do have the distinction of having been in the feld of neuroscience research for a long time. At the start of my career, there were very few methods and the early generations of computers were very limited. The feld was growing, but progress was slow. As technical advances made more approaches viable, rapid progress in understanding of brain organization and function became possible. Yet, there were early efforts to fnd ways to augment brain functions, especially for those that had sensory impairments. As a prime example, in the days of my postdoctoral training in the laboratory of Clinton Woolsey at the University of Wisconsin in the late 1960s, I was sent to represent the laboratory at a meeting at