Scientists Harness The Power Of Tongues 

Scientists Harness The Power of Tongues

Stick out your tongue and wiggle it around a bit. Notice how unique and strong this muscle is, and how much it does for you. It's one of the reasons why scientists are pioneering research into tongue input technology.

Image: Chris Walts/Flickr

According to Motherboard, scientists at the Laboratory for Advanced Brain Signal Processing in Tokyo, for example, believe that the tongue's range of movement could have a variety of applications, including helping to direct motorised wheelchairs and assisting in speech recognition.

"The human tongue is a special organ with dynamic mobility," Nam wrote. He added:

One may test the following tongue movements to realise its variety. The tongue can be bent up/down, moved left/right, stuck out forward/retracted backward, rolled clockwise/ counterclockwise, flattened, or rounded. Some people even can fold the lateral edges of the tongue upward to form a tube, commonly referenced as a 'tongue-rolling' trait in old-fashioned introductory genetics courses.

The team is utilising glossokinetic potential (GKP), or the electrical impulses generated by tongue movement. An electroencephalogram (EEG) can then pick up these movements, which opens the door for medical applications. The tongue is also not normally affected by spinal cord injuries, since it's connected to the brain through the cranial nerve, which makes it critical for those who might be able to use it for movement.

The tongue is no stranger to these kinds of experiments. In 2011, a team at the Northwestern University School of Medicine helped a paralysed man navigate his wheelchair thanks with the aid of a tongue piercing. [Motherboard]

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