The most promising route to ‘mental superpowers’

When people are given a way to see what’s happening inside their head in real-time, they can rapidly learn how to dampen pain, enhance self-control and boost mental ability. If more of us had access to this technique, it could be transformative.

Many of us have our special ways of dealing with our feelings and emotions. For instance, when we are feeling stressed we might calm our nerves by focusing attention on our breathing. If we have a throbbing toothache, we might try to ease the pain through a meditative technique. And when we are feeling down, we may cheer ourselves up by imagining ourselves in our ‘happy place’. Those who’ve tried similar strategies know they often work, but with varying degrees of success.
Now imagine if you could see what was happening inside your brain as you experienced emotions and sensations such as pain, anxiety, depression, fear, and pleasure – all in real-time. Suddenly, why you feel the way you feel might not be such a mystery, and the effectiveness of the little mental techniques you use to deal with daily life would be clearly visible.

Through practice, you can learn to strengthen control over the mind similar to how a weightlifter targets a specific muscle group  

That’s the idea behind a new technique known as “real-time fMRI”. By receiving specific visual feedback about brain activity while executing mental tricks and strategies, we can learn to consciously control our emotions, sensations and cravings as if they were being manipulated by a volume knob on a stereo. Through practice, you can learn to strengthen control over the mind similar to how a weightlifter targets a specific muscle group – and it raises the tantalising possibility of a future where we can train advanced mental abilities far beyond our own today.

By focusing on controlling a virtual flame, people were able to reduce the pain they felt (Credit: iStock)

The first demonstration that real-time fMRI could be a powerful tool came in 2005, with a study where researchers taught people how to control pain. Eight people lay in the scanner while subjected to a painful hot sensation on their skin. The researchers showed them a virtual flame to represent activation in the rostral ACC, a brain region involved in pain processing. Through various cognitive strategies, such as “attend toward or away from the painful stimulus” and “attempt to perceive the stimulus as high or low intensity”, participants quickly learned to control the size of the flame, thereby directly altering the level of electrical activation in the pain-responsive region.
Importantly, decreases or increases in this neural signal correlated with subjective feelings of pain, as measured by a questionnaire and a 10-point pain scale. Amazingly, in just a single 13-minute session participants learned to easily control the size of the flame and were able to reduce their pain by over 50%.
Since then, research using real-time fMRI has exploded, and new clinical and experimental uses seem to pop just about every month. The ways of displaying brain activity to people also now includes feedback such as audio sounds or a ‘thermometer display’ via virtual reality goggles.

The training can create changes in the brain that have long-lasting effects  

A 2017 study published in the journal Appetite showed that the training could fight obesity. Over the course of a four-day training period, overweight males learned to increase the interaction between the brain areas involved in executive functioning and reward processing, which improved self-control and led to healthier food choices.
Another study published this year found that by learning control over the right inferior prefrontal cortex, a brain region that is impaired in those with ADHD, adolescents could decrease ADHD symptoms and improve sustained attention. These benefits remained when the participants were tested 11 months later, demonstrating that the training can create changes in the brain that have long-lasting effects.
And a 2016 study found that elderly adults using the technique improved their cognition. It’s possible that younger individuals could boost brain function this way too. In fact, a 2015 study with healthy adults showed that neurofeedback training could improve focus and reduce lapses of attention.
Other recent studies have found that the training can be used to treat PTSD in war veterans, depression, anxiety, and even cigarette addiction. Another study by James Sulzer at the University of Texas, Austin and colleagues showed that participants could learn to regulate levels of the neurotransmitter dopamine, an application that could be used to treat Parkinson’s disease.

What would be the ultimate potential of real-time fMRI training if one could practise control over the brain every day? (Credit: Getty Images)

The research clearly shows that the technology can be used in countless ways, but how effective it can be in the long term, and whether it is even practical, is yet to be seen. Since real-time fMRI requires expensive equipment, its immediate use should be for treating severe conditions that lack more affordable therapies. However, as with any new technology, over time fMRI scanners will become cheaper, smaller, and more accessible.

If a few 10-minute sessions can produce statistically significant results, what could 10,000 hours of practice do?  

And this opens up a whole new world of possibilities. To get a sense of the untapped potential, imagine what it would be like for an athlete or body builder to always be working out without ever getting a chance to see their body or the size of the weights. It would be impossibly hard to determine which exercises are working and which aren’t, and exactly to what degree. Effectively honing just about any skill requires visual feedback, and the same could be said for brain training.
What would be the ultimate potential of real-time fMRI training if one had easy access and could practise control over the brain weekly, or even daily, for many years? If a few 10-minute sessions can produce statistically significant results, what could 10,000 hours of practice do? There’s no true way to know, but something akin to “mental superpowers” may not be out of the question.
Neurofeedback training could provide a shortcut to the types of abilities displayed by monks, for example, who can completely block out excruciating pain and change their physiology to dry a soaking towel placed on their back in a chilly room.
So, while the ultimate potential of the technology remains to be seen, it is not unreasonable to believe that the awesome mind-over-matter abilities of expert meditators that take years to develop could one day be learned by everyone in a fraction of the time.

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The countries where people still eat cats and dogs for dinner

Chinese vendors sell cooked dog meat at a market in Guiyang, southern China's Guizhou province in December 2016

Taiwan has banned the selling and eating of cats and dogs after a series of cruelty cases that caused widespread outrage.

The new Animal Protection Act will see anyone selling, eating or buying the animals for consumption facing fines of up to £6,500.

Those found guilty of animal cruelty could also receive a huge fine of £52,000 and two years in prison.

Taiwan is the first Asian country to crack down on the practice.

The new law tackles long-standing cultural beliefs about the benefits of eating dogs - for example, eating black dogs in winter is supposed to help you stay warm.

It was pushed through by President Tsai Ing-wen, who adopted three retired guide dogs last year and also has two cats, named Cookie and A-Tsai.
So what about the rest of the continent?

The practice of eating cats and dogs has become less common as pet ownership rises, and new generations have different attitudes to eating domestic animals.

But an estimated 30 million dogs across Asia, including stolen family pets, are still killed for human consumption every year, according to the Humane Society International.

While not widespread, the charity says the practice is most common in China, South Korea, The Philippines, Thailand, Laos, Vietnam, Cambodia and the region of Nagaland in India.
China

A customer holds a puppy for viewing at Yulin dog festival
Image caption A customer holds a puppy for viewing at Yulin dog festival

Although accurate figures are difficult to obtain, China is believed to be responsible for the majority of global cases of cat and dog slaughter.

Each year, around four million cats and 10 million dogs are believed to be slaughtered in the country. The Humane Society says the majority are stolen pets and strays that are captured and kept in cages.

The tradition of eating dogs dates back thousands of years, even though they are often kept as pets.

Each year in June, the city of Yulin in southern China hosts a dog meat festival, where live dogs and cats are sold specifically for eating and an estimated 10,000 are slaughtered for their meat.

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But last year saw big protests against the festival from within China as well as in the West.
South Korea
Dog meat has long been a familiar ingredient in meals in countries like China and South Korea
Image caption Dog meat has long been a familiar ingredient in meals in countries like China and South Korea

In South Korea, dog meat dishes are so common that they have their own name - Gaegogi.

The country has an estimated 17,000 dog farms, according to the Humane Society, where animals are routinely prepared for human consumption.

However, similar to other countries, pressure from welfare groups is having an impact.
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In February, the biggest dog meat market in Seongnam was closed down as part of a wider crackdown ahead of the country's hosting of the Winter Olympics next year.
Vietnam

Dogs in Thailand, destined for Vietnam
Image caption Dogs in Thailand, destined for Vietnam

Around five million dogs are believed to be slaughtered for eating in the country each year.

And the demand has led to an illegal trade from neighbouring countries, including Thailand, Cambodia and Laos.

The Asia Canine Protection Alliance (Acpa), which lobbies governments to try to end the dog meat trade, says there is some evidence that the dog meat trade is dangerous to humans, leading to an increase in diseases like rabies.

Acpa's focus is to end the illegal trade of dogs from Thailand and Laos into Vietnam, where an estimated five million dogs are slaughtered every year for human consumption, by tackling both the supply of dogs from Thailand and Laos, and the demand for dogs for consumption in Vietnam.

Seven brothers and sisters adopted by same couple after four years in care

Seven brothers and sisters adopted by same couple after four years in care

Clark family

Seven brothers and sisters who spent nearly four years in care have been adopted by the same couple.

Maria, Elizabet, Guillermo, Jason, Kristina, Katerin and James have been adopted by Josh and Jessaka Clark in Georgia, US.

The siblings were in care for 1,359 days before the couple's adoption process was completed on 9 May 2017.

Josh and Jessaka started the process two years ago and the children lived with the couple for the past 10 months.

The couple already had one biological son, Noah, and refer to the new additions as their "super seven".
Jessaka has posted photos of the happy family on her Facebook page and shared several updates on their progress.
Clark family
Image caption Jessaka shared this photo on Facebook when the family's adoption process was completed

"My husband Josh and I both knew that we wanted to adopt children. We had decided this before we even met each other," Jessaka told Fox News.

"Josh has a heart for the thousands of children that don't have parents and knew he wanted to bring some of them into his home."

That home looks likely to get even bigger after the couple raised more than $20,000 (£15,500) on Go Fund Me in less than 24 hours to expand their property to make more rooms for the family.

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Their fundraising page also states that the couple plan to take in more children.

Jessaka Clark
Image caption "Going to the school right now to change my babies name," Jessaka wrote on Facebook

Jessaka says she was inspired to adopt children by her parents and she has two adopted brothers of her own.

After the Clark's story was covered in US media, Jessaka says she hopes they would inspire others.

"We are truly blessed to be able to show people the beauty in adoption and shed light on the need for foster and adoptive parents," she wrote on her Facebook page.

She also shared photos from a school visit on 10 May to change the children's names.

US psychologists claim social media 'increases loneliness'

US psychologists claim social media 'increases loneliness'

Lonely man

Social media sites like Twitter, Facebook and Pinterest are causing more people to feel alone, according to US psychologists.

A report suggests that more than two hours of social media use a day doubled the chances of a person experiencing social isolation.

It claims exposure to idealised representations of other people's lives may cause feelings of envy.

The study also looked at those using Instagram, Snapchat and Tumblr.

It's important to remember what you see on social isn't necessarily the reason for you feeling bad - but it might be a factor.

Put simply, it might just heighten the emotions you're already feeling.

Read: Here's how to keep social media in perspective.

"We do not yet know which came first - the social media use or the perceived social isolation," co-author Elizabeth Miller, professor of paediatrics at the University of Pittsburgh, said.

"It's possible that young adults who initially felt socially isolated turned to social media. Or it could be that their increased use of social media somehow led to feeling isolated from the real world."
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Theories in the report suggest the more time a person spends online, the less time they have for real-world interactions.

Usage can also encourage feelings of exclusion, such as seeing photos of friends enjoying an event to which you have not been invited.

The team questioned almost 2,000 adults aged 19 - 32 about their use.

Professor Brian Primack, from the University of Pittsburgh School of Medicine, said: "This is an important issue to study because mental health problems and social isolation are at epidemic levels among young adults.

"We are inherently social creatures, but modern life tends to compartmentalise us instead of bringing us together.

"While it may seem that social media presents opportunities to fill that social void, I think this study suggests that it may not be the solution people were hoping for."