SAN FRANCISCO — Today, Dr. Michael Merzenich became a recipient of the Merkin Prize in Biomedical Technology, which annually recognizes a novel technology that has advanced human health. Merzenich and his co-inventors were recognized for the invention of the cochlear implant, which has restored hearing to more than a million people with deafness. While often described as a miracle of modern technology, Merzenich’s work on the project resulted in a stream of miracles that: revolutionized neuroscience; upended theories of childhood learning; debunked aging decline dogma; transformed the training paradigm for athletes and other peak performers; and created the new age of digital therapeutics — pushing beyond what pharma and surgeons can currently accomplish, while supplying the big data to fuel 21st century functional medicine.
Upon hearing of Merzenich’s most recent honor, Dr. Lee Hood, a fellow scientist who has driven many recent “miracles” (sequencing the human genome, creating the science of systems biology, and pioneering the field of 21st century medicine), described his friend and collaborator Merzenich as “a visionary with a compelling ability to persuade and execute on the impossible.”
In the 1970s, Merzenich stirred a decades-long controversy by publishing studies showing that an adult brain is “plastic” (capable of chemical, physical, and functional change) at any age. At that time, experts believed the brain was only plastic in Merzenich argued that the prevailing theory was wrong — that plasticity existed throughout life and that the brain was constantly changing based on life experience, in both positive and negative ways. This is now the dominant view, but it was so revolutionary that broad acceptance took decades.
Early in that debate, Merzenich was advised to take a lower profile by helping a team build an artificial cochlea to reverse deafness. The cochlea is an inner-ear organ that turns sound waves into electric pulses, which the brain interprets as sound. Merzenich solved the practical problem of how to connect a cochlear implant to the brain, given that the natural cochlea has thousands of connections. He figured out how to connect it with eight, by relying on his novel insight that adult brains react to new input with plasticity and would re-wire to hear.
For many, the success of the implant was inarguable proof that the brain remains plastic at any age, but to paraphrase Nobel Laureate Max Planck “science progresses with every funeral.” Many schooled before Merzenich’s discovery of lifelong plasticity cast doubt on each advance using plasticity to solve previously intractable brain issues.
In the 1990s, his lab made a major shift from cochlear implant research. Merzenich said he no longer needed to drill holes in heads to harness plasticity and preferred to “use the holes God gave us” – meaning our eyes and ears. He began developing auditory and visual brain exercises, building software designed to individualize quickly to each user, to progressively challenge brains to be faster and more accurate, and to engage plasticity to upregulate neurochemistry and lay new neural pathways to improve cognition. These early exercises would evolve into BrainHQ brain training, distributed by Posit Science Corporation, which Dr. Merzenich co-founded in 2003 as a vessel to advance the science and to make it widely available.
Unlike brain exercise copycats with marketing that mimicked the promise of plasticity, but without producing study results, the north star of Posit Science (literally meaning “advance science”) has been to relentlessly produce new science backed by studies. Over two decades, 300-plus peer-reviewed studies have reported breakthroughs across aging, brain injuries, mental illnesses, and neurodegenerative diseases.
In the past year, three studies of BrainHQ garnered world-wide headlines: the INHANCE neuroimaging study made BrainHQ the first intervention ever shown to upregulate production of the “pay attention” chemical acetylcholine (known to decline with age and plummet with dementia); 2) the 2800-person ACTIVE Study reported that less than 24 hours of BrainHQ training spread over first 36 months of a 20-year study significantly reduced dementia as reported in Medicare records; and 3) the ENACT Study reported training reduced a blood biomarker for beta amyloid (an identifier of Alzheimer’s).
When Merzenich first discovered lifelong plasticity and asserted its potential, he was derided as “Mr. Plasticity.” Yet, Merzenich acknowledges he often underestimates the power of plasticity. He says he was pretty sure the cochlear implant would work “eventually,” because brain’s job is to adapt to make sense of new input. However, he thought it might take months or longer. The researchers were able to converse with the first patients within a few days.
Merzenich credits football legend Tom Brady with teaching him that the same exercises designed to be “digital medicine” for those with ailments, could also help someone with a great brain perform even better. What began as secret work to help Brady win his final four Super Bowl rings has expanded to training for elite athletes, the military, special forces, SWAT teams, NASA, and others focused on peak brain performance.
As word of Merzenich’s latest award spread, he heard from dozens of colleagues, who focused on three of his greatest qualities: his brilliance, his courage in facing down critics and in being self-critical, and his generosity.
“Mike is just brilliant. He thinks at lightning speed and with mind boggling flexibility,” wrote Dr. Athanassios Protopapas of the University of Oslo.
“He has been as brave as any paradigm-busting scientist has to be,” wrote Dr. Ian Robertson of Trinity College Dublin.
“He hears signal where everyone else hears noise and then trusts it long enough to be proven right,” wrote Dr. Etienne de Villiers of McGill University.
“He inspired me to be more aggressive in defending my own work and to try to improve the lives and independence of others” wrote Dr. Karlene Ball of University of Alabama at Birmingham.
“Despite his extraordinary accomplishments, he remains remarkably humble, generous, and optimistic,” wrote Dr. Sandi Chapman of UT Dallas.
“His work has impacted multitudes and inspired researchers around the world,” wrote Dr. Dale Bredeson who incorporated BrainHQ in his protocol for addressing Alzheimer’s.
BrainHQ has shown benefits across hundreds of studies. Such benefits include gains in cognition, in quality of life and in real-world activities. BrainHQ is used by leading health plans, medical centers, clinics, and communities, and by elite athletes, the military, and others focused on peak performance. Consumers can try a BrainHQ exercise for free daily at https://www.brainhq.com.