Neuroscientists use AI, brain scanning technology to remove phobias from brain

fMRI decoded neurofeedback (DefNef), a process developed by neuroscientists, had successfully removed specific phobias from human brain. The researchers combined artificial intelligence (AI) and brain scanning technology.

Scientists at the ATR Computational Neuroscience Lab in Japan developed the new technique to discover an alternative to exposure therapy which suffers from a 40 percent dropout rate among phobia and post-traumatic stress disorder patients, The Guardian reports. Early tests show the new therapy helped reduce anxieties caused by specific memories.

Since it does not ask people to think about the specific memories which makes it more appealing compared to exposure therapy. In exposure therapy, patients overcome their phobias – for example arachnophobia or fear of spiders – by encouraging patients to handle spiders in the clinic.

The technique relies on identifying brain patterns related to a specific fear, subsequently overwritten with the use of reward system. Ben Seymour, researcher from the University of Cambridge and involved in the study, explains that after the scientists induced a mild fear memory in the brain, they developed a quick and accurate way of reading the result using AI algorithms, Sciencealert reports.

The study asked 17 volunteers to associate a certain image with a brief electric shock. Whenever the researchers spot the same brain patterns over the next three days, the volunteers were given some cash as a reward. The scientists’ target was to link the AI-identified pattern with a reward instead of something scary.

The researchers used red, green, blue or yellow circles on a screen while recording the brain activity of the volunteers. After they had viewed about 50 images, a computer algorithm analysed the brain scans and identified the brain activity associated with each colour image.

In the second part, the volunteers viewed another sequence of images with two colour circles which was preceded by an unpleasant but tolerable electric shocks. Based on recordings of the sensors and brain activities of the volunteers, the study identified the images feared which the researchers tried to erase by asking the participants to think whatever they want and not painful memories.

“In effect, the features of the memory that were previously tuned to predict the painful shock, were now bring reprogrammed to predict something positive instead,” says Seymour, lead researcher of the study.

The ATR has begun scanning phobia and PTSD patients, Mitsuo Kawato, from ATR, says they hope to begin systematic DefNef therapy in a few years.