"MENTAL SUPERPOWERS"

The most promising route to "mental superpowers"

We always try different strategies for dealing with our feelings and emotions, and those strategies often work.

The new technique known as “real-time fMRI” is for see in real time what is happening inside our brain when we experience sensations as pain, anxiety, depression, fear and pleasure.

The technique consists of receiving stimulus about our brain activity and we can learn to consciously control our emotions, with that, we can learn to strengthen control over the mind.

The first demonstration of the successful tool came in 2005, where researchers taught people how to control pain. Eight people were subjected to a painful hot sensation on their skin. The researchers showed them a virtual flame to active the brain region involved in pain processing and the participants swiftly learned to control the size of the flame. They reduced their pain over 50%.

A recent study showed that the training could fight obesity. Overweight mans learned to control areas involved in executive functioning and improved self-control and led to healthier food.

Another study published this year found how adolescents could decrease ADHD symptoms and improve sustained attention. Other recent studies have found that the training can be use to treat PTSD in war veterans, depression, anxiety, cigarette addiction.

And a study at the University of Texas showed how to regulate levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, which could be used to treat Parkinson.

This is a clearly demonstration of the many uses of technology, but how effective can it be in long term? So, all this technique requires expensive equipment at the moment, but, over time the equipment will become cheaper, smaller and more accessible. And, who knows, it can be more useful than we think.