Thread by @Albertotufaile

Total Recalling

Life imitates Art far more than Art imitates Life.

Neurophotonics is the optical technology applicable to brain study and its impact on basic applications and clinical neuroscience, and human brain mapping has become one of the most exciting contemporary research areas, with major breakthroughs expected in the coming decades.

In vivo photoactivation of hippocampal CA3 pyramidal neurons in a mouse with concomitant electrophysiological recording.

Cortical neural stimulation with concomitant two-photon optical functional imaging.

Photoacoustic tomography of brain hemodynamics in responses to stimulations.

Closed-loop all-optical interrogation of neural circuits in vivo.

Neurophotonics: Pokémon episode depicted bright, flashing lights which triggered seizures and other neurological problems in 685 children across Japan. Rushed to hospitals in droves, all of the victims survived, though some were left with permanent neurological problems.

"Dennō Senshi Porygon," which was seen by over 4 million people across Japan on December 16, 1997, caused a variety of medical problems, including nausea, dizziness, and loss of consciousness.

Medical professionals teamed with Japanese television broadcasters to create new safety guidelines for animated televised shows. The guidelines included the following:

"Flashing images, especially those with red, should not flicker faster than three times per second. If the image does not have red, it still should not flicker faster than five times per second.

... Flashing images should not be displayed for a total duration of more than two seconds. Stripes, whirls, and concentric circles should not take up a large part of the television screen."

You would think that the Porygon episode would be impossible to find, given that it is banned in all countries. But, in actuality, a quick Google search will yield a link to the video...

... A word of caution to any thrill-seeking Pokémon fans who might want to do the aforementioned Google search: only a small fraction of those affected by the episode had any history of seizures.

1 in 4,000 people are vulnerable to photosensitve seizures, and if you're one of them, you probably don't want to find out by watching an episode of Pokémon. More information at ranker.com/list/pokemon-e…

People with photosensitive epilepsy have seizures that are triggered by: (a) Flashing lights; (b) Bold, contrasting visual patterns (such as stripes or checks); (c) Overexposure to video games.

Have you ever been in a neurophotonics lab? I know one, if you want to visit it...

The Neurophotonics Centre – located in Quebec City, Canada.

Question: Can VR affect people with photosensitive epilepsy?

With a handful of virtual reality (VR) headsets on the market already, the impact of such devices on eyesight, the brain and behaviour is still being established.

Most makers of VR equipment don't recommend people with epileptic conditions or special sensitivities to rapidly changing light try the experience, but these symptoms can occur even if the user has never experienced a seizure before.

If you feel bad with these devices, the best solution is to take off the headset if you start feeling sick.
businessinsider.com/virtual-realit…

Tip: “Absolutely there are potentially negative effects of using VR. The most important thing that we should do is just to be cautious and sensible” she says. “But we shouldn’t let that stop us from taking advantage of the massive potential this technology offers as well.”...

An interesting paper about this aspect of neurophotincs stimulus theguardian.com/technology/201…

Migraine aura and photosensitive epilepsy: what’s the link?

Photosensitive epilepsy is a kind of reflex epilepsy, triggered by light stimuli, of which we the genetic component has been established. Besides the genetic factor, an abnormal reactivity of the occipital visual cortex has been suggested...

Well, it seems that stimulus using intermittent photic stimulation can activate a mechanism capable of causing the visual-hemiplegic aura, related to migrane aura: atlasofscience.org/migraine-aura-…

So, now it is time to close my eyes and to sleep.