Neuroscience changed 100 years ago today

+ the longest-running gay rodeo in the world US Edition - Today's top story: From diagnosing brain disorders to cognitive enhancement, 100 years of EEG have transformed neuroscience [View in browser]( US Edition | 6 July 2024 [The Conversation] [The Conversation]( Exactly 100 years ago today, the German psychiatrist Hans Berger placed electrodes on the brain of a 17-year-old boy to capture its electrical activity. This marked the first EEG reading done on a human − and the advent of a new era for neuroscience. The EEG − short for electroencephalogram − records the electrical signals the brain produces when many neurons are active all at once. Different frequencies of these neural oscillations are linked to different types of cognitive functions. Researchers can measure or modify these brain rhythms to diagnose or treat brain disorders such as epilepsy and Alzheimer’s disease. The EEG remains a fixture in the work of many researchers, including that of Erika Nyhus, a cognitive neuroscientist at Bowdoin College. “The EEG’s 100-year anniversary is an opportunity to reflect on [this discovery’s significance in neuroscience and medicine](,” she writes. The EEG has come a long way since its invention in 1924. Nyhus and her colleagues have some promising predictions about where else this device can go in the future. What do you think will be possible in the next 100 years of EEG? Hit reply to let us know. This week we also liked stories about [cybersecurity in space](, [the courage it takes to call it quits](, and how the Catholic Church is using [the upcoming Paris Olympics to engage young people](. [ [The latest on philanthropy and nonprofits. Sign up for our weekly newsletter, Giving Today.](] Vivian Lam Associate Health and Biomedicine Editor The electroencephalogram allowed scientists to record and read brain activity. Kateryna Kon/Science Photo Library via Getty Images [From diagnosing brain disorders to cognitive enhancement, 100 years of EEG have transformed neuroscience]( Erika Nyhus, Bowdoin College Deciphering how neurons talk to each other by reading the brain’s electrical activity has given scientists insights into memory and conditions like epilepsy and Alzheimer’s. Complex space systems like the International Space Station could be vulnerable to hackers. NASA [To guard against cyberattacks in space, researchers ask ‘what if?’]( Patrick Lin, California Polytechnic State University Sabotaged space stations, falsified space probe data and faked alien contact are just a few of the scenarios a report on space cybersecurity outlines. A man reads the Chicago Tribune announcing President Lyndon B. Johnson’s decision not to run for reelection in 1968. Corbis/Getty Images [Knowing when to call it quits takes courage and confidence - 3 case studies]( Kevin J. McMahon, Trinity College; Michael Paris, College of Staten Island, CUNY How does someone with power and fame walk away from it? It’s not easy, as these three examples from politics and sports show. - [The Catholic Church is using the upcoming Paris Olympics to engage young people − but several popes have already promoted sports as a way to teach Christian values]( A. Jaime Morales Jr., University of Connecticut The use of sport as an evangelical tool is not new for the Catholic Church. Pope Pius X welcomed athletes in 1905 for the first international gymnastics competition in the Vatican gardens. - [Supreme Court of Oklahoma says no to Catholic charter school – but this may not be the end of the boundary-pushing saga]( Charles J. Russo, University of Dayton Officials have vowed to keep fighting for permission to open the school as a charter – which would be a controversial first for the country. - [Flirting with disaster: When endangered wild animals try to mate with domestic relatives, both wildlife and people lose]( Joel Berger, Colorado State University Conflicts between herders and the wild ancestors of their yaks, camels and reindeer are a serious threat to both people and wildlife, writes a scientist who has seen these clashes firsthand. - [Hurricane Beryl’s rapid intensification, Category 5 winds so early in a season are alarming: Here’s why more tropical storms are exploding in strength]( - [Colorado is home to the longest-running gay rodeo in the world]( - [How was popcorn discovered? An archaeologist on its likely appeal for people in the Americas millennia ago]( The Conversation News Quiz 🧠- [The Conversation U.S. weekly news quiz]( Fritz Holznagel, The Conversation Here’s the first question of [this week’s 4th of July edition:]( What are the opening words of the U.S. Constitution? - A. Four score and seven years ago - B. We the people of the United States - C. When the president does it, that means it is not illegal - D. Hey George, don't make it bad [Test your knowledge]( - - More of The Conversation Like this newsletter? 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