America develops algorithms to monitor moods through brain activity

According to Nature Biotechnology, American scientists have developed an algorithm to effectively monitor people's moods through brain activity.

After studying the mood alteration of 7 epilepsy patients, who were implanted electrodes in the brain to monitor seizures, researchers were able to link specific patterns of activity. nerves in the limbic system and other parts of the brain with emotional states.

Brain regions studied by American scientists - (Photo: Nature Biotechnology).

There has been much information about the relationship between brain activity and mood. For example, it is believed that the key component involved in negative emotional reactions is amygdala - , and if this is stimulated, can cause feelings of fear, disgust or sadness.

However, human emotions are often diverse and amygdala is not the only area responsible for emotional formation. In order to more accurately establish the relationship between mood and brain activity patterns, scientists at the University of California, USA, decided to conduct the study with the participation of 7 implanted patients. electrodes into the brain to monitor seizures. Brain activity is measured in some areas of the limbic system in the brain, responsible for emotional reactions (ocular epithelial cortex - orbitofrontal cortex, amygdala, amygdala, hypothalamus), as well as in some areas of the forehead and temples of the brain.

The goal of scientists is not only to find out the correlation between the activity patterns of the brain and the patient's mood , but also to track how they change over time. For a few days, scientists tracked the mood changes of study participants using a standardized questionnaire.

In this way, scientists have succeeded in creating and testing a method of monitoring mood through brain activity in some parts of the brain involved in emotional reactions. In the future, the patient's mood monitoring method may be useful for diagnosing emotional disorders. Besides, this is also an opportunity to develop methods of monitoring and treating emotional disorders.