Your Brain Is Glowing Right Now. Literally.
The human brain actually lights up with signals known as ultra weak photon emotions (UPEs), which are a byproduct of metabolic processes.
Researchers have now been able to detect UPEs and determine what they were revealing about brain function.
A new imaging technique called photoencephalography could someday harness UPE signals as a diagnostic tool to supplement PET scans and MRIs.
From bioluminescent mushrooms in the undergrowth of a rainforest to alien sea creatures eerily glowing in the abyssal depths, glowing organisms light up some of the darkest places on Earth. But humans aren't among them—or, at least, we thought so.
As a team of researchers—led by Haley Casey from Algoma University in Ontario, Canada—found out, the human brain can actually luminesce. They called these glimpses of light ultra weak photon emissions (UPEs), and they are a result of metabolic energy flow. As electrons degrade during a process known as oxidation, they lose energy and release photons with it. Our brains emit them in visible light, meaning that if we had the X-ray vision to see through each other's skulls in total darkness, we might be able to make out a faint glow.
This is not technically bioluminescence—organisms that are bioluminescent rely on chemicals such as luciferin for their eerie light. It also isn't phosphorescence, which is absorbed energy released in the form of light. It isn't even thermal radiation, which can be seen in infrared and is emitted by anything over a temperature of absolute zero. UPEs are their own phenomenon, and can be detected from the outside. They can also be indicators of what is going on in the brain.
'[UPEs] predict oxidative stress, aging, and neurodegeneration,' Casey and her research team said in their study, recently published in the journal Current Biology. 'UPEs are triggered by neurotransmitters and biophysical stimuli, but they are also generated by cells at rest and can be passively recorded using modern photodetectors in dark environments.'
Previous studies found that the human body is capable of glowing, but Casey's team specifically zeroed in on the brain and what these emissions could tell us about brain activity and health. They also were trying to prove that UPE signals from the brain could be distinguished from background photon noise. Subjects wore an EEG cap that had electrodes attached, along with photomultiplier tubes, to monitor brain activity. Photomultiplier tubes are so hypersensitive that they can pick up even the faintest trace of light.
What the researchers were testing out was a new technique they devised (still in development) called photoencephalography. There are two major advantages of using photoencephalography over other methods (like PET scans and even less invasive fNIRS and fMRI scans): it is non-invasive, and it is less likely that results will be confused by the test itself. Other methods can either spark neural activity or suppress it, but photoencephalography does neither. As a result, passive measurement of brain activity is undisturbed and allows for detection of electromagnetic stimuli in the surrounding environment.
Searching for UPE signals, the researchers focused on the left occipital lobe of the brain (which specializes in visual processing) and the right temporal lobe (which is instrumental to learning and remembering nonverbal information such as music). They were curious as to whether UPE signals from either lobe would show up as distinct from background noise, and when compared to background photons, the signals from the brain did in fact stand out as a result of their unique frequency.
In the dark, subjects were also given sound-based tasks to accomplish without needing to see what they were doing. They were told to open and close their eyes before and after listening to music. UPEs were logged during tasks done with open and closed eyes—both of which have obvious brain signatures. There were variations in UPE output depending on the task being performed, and the activity detected by the EEG cap was also highly correlated with UPE signals.
UPEs could possibly help with diagnosing neurological conditions in the future. 'Because UPEs are related to oxidative metabolism, the most immediately relevant applications might include the detection of budding brain tumors, excitotoxic lesions, mild traumatic injuries, and neurotoxic insults,' Casey said.
Photoencephalography won't be replacing MRIs just yet, but it will someday shine a light on what we couldn't see before.
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