During winter vacation, I walked into the laboratory of the School of Medicine at Tianjin University. Professor and doctoral supervisor Liu Shuang was focusing on debugging a precise neuroelectrophysiological signal acquisition device. Her fingers were rapidly tapping on the keyboard, and the pulsating brainwave patterns on the screen seemed to be "telling" one unknown emotional code after another. Accurate features Liu Shuang excitedly lifted his head, his eyes sparkling with light. This is the "Shengong Shenxin" brain computer interaction system developed by her and her team, which has once again successfully captured characteristic EEG signals of patients with depression. This system can analyze the depression state of the subjects through "listening" and provide specific signal stimuli to the brain to help patients regain their smile. Not long ago, the list of winners for the 2024 Alibaba Damo Academy Green Orange Award was announced. Liu Shuang became the first recipient of the award to focus on non-invasive diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. Opening the Door to a New World "Liu Shuang, who was in high school, carried a dream of becoming a doctor in his heart. When she applied for the college entrance examination, she chose to major in clinical medicine. However, a slight difference caused her to miss out on her dream major and ultimately be admitted to the Biomedical Engineering program. During his undergraduate studies, by chance, Liu Shuang attended an academic conference on brain computer interfaces with his teacher. That was her first close encounter with a brain computer interface. At the meeting, the experts' reports were easy to understand, like a key that opened the door to a new world for me Liu Shuang reminisces. Upon graduating from undergraduate studies, Liu Shuang, who excelled academically, was granted the opportunity to be recommended for graduate studies at our university. But a deep exchange with the neural engineering team at Tianjin University completely changed her life trajectory. The profound insights of the team teacher on brain computer interface research have strengthened Liu Shuang's determination to devote himself to brain computer interface research. She gave up her recommendation for admission and prepared to take the postgraduate entrance examination. Eventually, she was admitted to Tianjin University with the highest score, embarking on an exploratory journey in the field of brain computer interface research. At that time, research on brain computer interfaces was in a downturn, and there were few domestic research teams. Most of the related research remains at the theoretical level, and applied research is just beginning. At that time, our team was groping in the pitch black, taking deep and shallow steps, but no one wanted to give up, "Liu Shuang recalled. 2014 was a milestone year for the field of brain computer interfaces. At that time, the world's first artificial neural rehabilitation robot "Shengong-1" suitable for "brain machine body" motor function reconstruction was launched at Tianjin University. This marks the official entry of brain computer interface research into the stage of large-scale clinical applications. It was also in that year that Liu Shuang began pursuing a PhD. Her mentor told her, "Doing scientific research is either 'reaching the sky' or 'landing'." Encouraged by her mentor, Liu Shuang decided to try applying her emotional computing research results to the diagnosis and treatment of mental illnesses. Since 2016, Liu Shuang has successively cooperated with Tianjin Anding Hospital, Xiangya Second Hospital, and other hospitals to apply relevant technologies to the diagnosis and treatment of depression patients. With the unremitting efforts of Liu Shuang and his team members, Tianjin University School of Medicine has made significant progress in non-invasive brain computer interface research in recent years, especially in the field of psychiatric brain computer interface research, which has formed a complete chain from brain signal acquisition to decoding and application. The patient's smile is the source of my sense of achievement, "said Liu Shuang, who considers himself a" neurotic "and is an optimistic and energetic person. But in her research work, she often has to face a group of depression patients who can't be happy no matter what. According to statistics, there are approximately 95 million patients with depression in China. At present, the clinical diagnosis of mental disorders mainly relies on doctors' experience and scale evaluation, which has problems such as strong subjectivity and poor consistency, and urgently needs objective physiological targets. What Liu Shuang needs to do is extract special EEG signals from patients with depression. However, the EEG signals collected by non-invasive EEG signal acquisition devices have poor strength and anti-interference ability. Collecting effective and high-quality EEG signals was the initial challenge we faced Liu Shuang said. After repeated experiments, her team has created a Chirp high-frequency steady-state response induction paradigm based on emotional brain computer interface technology, significantly improving the oscillation signal-to-noise ratio of related EEG signals, and found that the EEG signal 40Hz clip ASSR can be used as a physiological target to characterize depression. Now, collecting pathological EEG signals from a patient only takes 10 minutes. Subsequently, Liu Shuang led a team to independently develop the "Shengong Shenxin" brain computer interaction system. Through this system, positive signals are transmitted to the brains of depression patients, attempting to regulate or even change specific signals in their brains to help them experience happiness. Although not a doctor, Liu Shuang often receives small gifts from patients: sometimes a few tomatoes grown at home, and sometimes souvenirs brought back from outings. After patients return to normal life through treatment, the smiles on their faces are the source of my sense of achievement Liu Shuang said. Those familiar with Liu Shuang know that 'love can withstand all difficulties in the world'. Before becoming a mother, she never left the laboratory before 11 pm at night. Even though she became a mother, she didn't take any leave for herself: she only took 50 days of maternity leave and was still writing project plans during her confinement... But on Liu Shuang's face, it was hard to see fatigue or sadness. Liu Shuang's catchphrase is "Love can withstand all difficulties in the world", and her "cool" smile is her most distinctive symbol. In the college, students affectionately refer to Liu Shuang as "Sister Shuang". She really likes this title. I don't want students to be afraid of me, but I hope there is no distance between us and we can get along like friends, "she said. Under Liu Shuang's influence, students followed her example and devoted themselves wholeheartedly to scientific research. The laboratory is often brightly lit, and everyone voluntarily works overtime without any complaints. When research gets stuck, Liu Shuang is always the first to step forward, leading everyone to review experiments, think about problems from different perspectives, and find solutions. In discussions, she never suppresses students' ideas as a mentor, but encourages them to speak freely. Liu Shuang not only has strict academic requirements for students, but also cares deeply about their lives. When students encounter difficulties, she always extends a helping hand at the first time, providing material and spiritual support. Once, a student encountered a major setback in an experiment and almost gave up. After learning about it, Liu Shuang accompanied him for a walk and heart to heart talk on campus, sharing his failed experiences in scientific research and encouraging him not to be discouraged. Encouraged by Liu Shuang, this student bounced back and ultimately achieved a key breakthrough. I hope to illuminate the path ahead for students and encourage them to bravely embark on the journey of exploring the unknown Liu Shuang said. (New Society)