Could A Zap To The Brain Derail Destructive Impulses?
A brain implant already used to treat severe epilepsy might also help fend off impulses to abuse drugs or overeat before they happen, researchers say. But so far it's been tested mostly in mice.
by Esther Landhuis
Dec 18, 2017
3 minutes
Picture this: While reaching for the cookie jar — or cigarette or bottle of booze or other temptation — a sudden slap denies your outstretched hand. When the urge returns, out comes another slap.
Now imagine those "slaps" occurring inside the brain, protecting you in moments of weakness.
In a published Monday in the , Stanford neuroscientists say they've achieved this sort of mind-reading in binge-eating mice. They found a telltale pattern of brain activity that comes up seconds before the animals start to pig out — and
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