Mary-Louise Hoffman
The Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency plans to enlist scientific professionals to help explore how peripheral nerves of the human body may facilitate cognitive learning.
DARPA said Wednesday its Targeted Neuroplasticity Training project aims to develop a technology platform that can help accelerate extensive trainings across the Defense Department.
“Recent research has shown that stimulation of certain peripheral nerves, easily and painlessly achieved through the skin, can activate regions of the brain involved with learning,” noted Doug Weber, DARPA’s TNT program manager.
“TNT technology will be designed to safely and precisely modulate peripheral nerves to control plasticity at optimal points in the learning process,” Weber added.
The agency’s biological technologies office will hold a Proposers Day at Westin Arlington Gateway in Arlington, Virginia, on April 8 to discuss the initiative with interested science and technology professionals, according to a FedBizOpps notice published Wednesday.
DARPA seeks to attract people who specialize in the areas of cognitive neuroscience, neural plasticity, electrophysiology, systems neurophysiology, biomedical engineering, human performance and computational modeling to the TNT program.
