Scientists Use Sound To Brainwash Worms
The irony of the word “brainwash” is that implies that there’s some cleaning involved — but the real intent is as dirty as it gets. Controlling someone’s mind has a lot of negative applications and connotations, so it’s a good thing that it’s mostly used in fiction. That hasn’t stopped scientists from trying, though. In fact, they may have already succeeded.
The Salk Institute for Biological Studies managed to pull off an experiment with worms. By using ultrasound, they were able to send signals to their brains and have them turn in a specific direction. Part of that has to do with worms’ neurons being geared toward welcoming ultrasound; part of it has to do with the tiny gas bubbles the worms were bathed in beforehand, so that the sound waves could get a boost. Conditions aside, the scientists could force changes and even reversals in direction with a few choice notes.
It may seem like a waste of time to boss worms around, least of all because they’re not the most complex animals around. But the Salk Institute’s brightest can see the implications: using sound to stimulate brain activity could help with the therapy of patients, assuming that they found ways to safely affect animals larger than shoelaces. At the very least, the prospects are there — and one can only hope it doesn’t lead to a brainwashed populace.
