|
At every CES I've ever been to, there's been one or two gadgets promising to boost your mental health. In recent years, the number of companies making forays into this space has grown, and will likely continue to do so in the future. Could it be, much like the number of people wearing heart-monitoring wearables today, everyone will be strapping an EEG to their skulls a decade or so down the line? It's more likely than you think, so it's worth asking what these devices are good for, what benefit they could bring, and where does the science end and the hype begin.
An Electroencephalogram (EEG) is a clinical tool to monitor the electrical activity of our brains. Put very simply, our minds are constantly moving ions around, and when they reach the scalp, it's possible to measure those ions. By placing electrodes on the scalp, you can record the changes in voltages pushed out by our brains more or less in real time. These voltages are commonly grouped into categories, which are often described as brain waves. Each one represents a different state of mind: Gamma (hard thinking), Beta (anxious or active), Alpha (relaxed), Theta (creative, or dreaming) and Delta (asleep).
Professor Karl Friston at University College London is one of the world's most influential neuroscientists and an expert in brain imaging. He explained that these technologies can be used to diagnose issues both in the structure and function of the brain. And while there are many technologies which can look at how our brains work, "we're a long way away from understanding the brain like we understand the heart." Broadl
|
RELATED ARTICLES | | |
|
 Even without any announcements from Apple, CES dominated tech news this week with a host of upcoming products and technologies being demonstrated at the annual expo in Las Vegas.
|
|
Winter is a horrible time for space heater fires. Here are the worst spots and practices you need to avoid in your home.
|
|
If you received a bunch of password reset requests from Instagram recently, you're not alone. As reported by Malwarebytes, an antivirus software company, there was a data breach revealing the "sensitive information" of 17.5 million Instagram users. Malwarebytes added that the leak included Instagram usernames, physical addresses, phone numbers, email addresses and more.
The company added that the "data is available for sale on the dark web and can be abused by cybercriminals." Malwarebytes noted in an email to its customers that it discovered the breach during its routine dark web scan and that it's tied to a potential incident related to an Instagram API exposure from 2024.
The reported breach has resulted in users receiving several emails from Instagram about password reset requests. According to Malwarebytes, the leaked information could lead to more serious attacks, like phishing attempts or account takeovers. Meta hasn't released an official statement about the latest incident, but it's not the first time Instagram's parent company has been in hot water for data breaches. If you haven't already, it's always a good idea to turn on two-factor authentication and change your password. Even better
|
|
 Apple is moving its store in Downtown Montréal, with the new location set to open on Friday, January 16, at 10 a.m. local time, according to iPhone in Canada.
|
|
