Brain, behaviour and technology

Meet two examples of pioneering research in brain, behaviour and technology. 

Esther Aarts leads research on the link between gut and brain. How nice would it be if we could use food to keep our brains healthy? Lennart Verhagen is working with his research group on Focused Ultrasound Stimulation, a technology that can treat diseases and disorders without invasive interventions in the brain. 

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Healthy food for a healthy brain

Esther Aarts, professor of Nutritional Neuroscience at Radboud University, leads research on the link between the gut and the brain. 'Gut bacteria are important for our digestion. They also train the immune system to protect the intestinal wall from invaders. If that gut wall leaks, inflammations enter the bloodstream. These can also reach the brain. We are studying how gut bacteria can protect the brain from inflammation and what we can best eat for this. Because nutrition and obesity also seem to play a role in depression and dementia. Ultimately, we want to understand why some people suffer from those levels of inflammation in the brain and others do not. How nice would it be if we could keep the brain healthy with something as simple as nutrition?'

New technology as an alternative to brain surgery

Focused Ultrasound Stimulation (FUS) is an innovative technology that is changing the medical world as well as scientific research. Dr Lennart Verhagen, principal investigator at the FUS Initiative: ‘This technique allows us to accurately and safely stimulate specific tissues in the brain, without surgery. This offers promising possibilities, such as non-surgical treatments for cancer and managing Parkinson's disease. Especially for people with neurological disorders, FUS offers a valuable alternative to invasive methods such as deep brain stimulation (DBS) and medication. ‘The impact of this technique on medical science but especially on the lives of patients who need to undergo minimally invasive therapy is enormous.’

Want to know more?  

Then read the following articles on Radboud Recharge:

Why that bag of crisps should always be emptied in one go

One ultrasound treatment against cancer, Parkinson's and depression