Brain-Computer Interfaces

Abstract

The world of fiction often depicts mad scien- tists controlling robots with their m' ds, wreak- ing havoc and destruction in the liv s of many. Although such manifestations of disa ter inspire fear in many, the age of the cyborg, or the melding _ of brain and machine, is here. Dr. Philip Kennedy: of Neural Signals, Inc., was the first researcher to implant an electrode into the brain of a quad? riplegic, who could then spell out words on a computer by using his thoughts (Kotulak 2004). Such technology is aptly named brain—computer interfacing (BCI). Although much refinement is needed for a wider base of application, the basic mecha- nisms of brain—com- puter interfaces have been established and even applied on a small scale. But, in the modern—day age of technology, the question remains: what are the reper- cussions of the union of the human brain with machine? HOW BRAIN‘ In general, BCl’s involve an instrument in association with a COMPUTER INTERFACES brain region of interest and a computer or robot. FUNCTION ‘ y ) http://www.research.va.gov/nezusfifeatures/brain—con1p—inteiface.cfin To ’ imize the effective of Bffls, the brain lags yen studied through functional Jmagneticiaresyonage imaging (NQI) in order to correlat q ‘raf — egion with bodily /function. fMRI uses ra waves and an extremely powerful ma netic f1 cl to depict regions of the brain where bldgdfiessel are expanding, chemical reactions a$eccurring, or _§l;_xtra oxygen is being delivered, BRAIN-COMPUTER INTERFACES: BLURRING THE DISTINCTION BET\X/EENFLESH AND METAL Kl;//Tl) 121/ /lggai 71./a/ all of which are activities associated with a brain functioning normally (University of Washington School of Medicine 2007). For example, it has , been determined that the motor cortex is the area A an-paralyzed individuals, commands from brain are read by a variety of instruments, nging from an im lant surgically placed inside theqnotor cortex nvasive) to electrodes placed —i 'asive). Commands from the by these instruments so that when xut performing a movement, the instrument picks qup the electrical sig- nal, amplifies it, and’\_ og the brain responsible for bodily movement. . s, a patie t\t In I 0-~ then transmits it to an attached comput- er or robotic ele 9 'ent (Gupta 2002). For e\x=- ample, researchers‘ led by John Dono- ghue of Brown Uni- versity implanted electrodes into the motor cortex of a patient whose spi- nal cord was perma- nently damaged, al- lowing him to open his e—mail, control a television, and move objects with a robot- ic arm, all simply by thinking about the actions (Nature 2006). It is important to realize that BCls work due to the natural organization of the human brain, which is a complex system of neurons. Neurons are interconnected through dendrites and axons, which transmit electrical pulses generated by the movement of ions across neuronal membranes. Q ‘ BERQEY SCIENTIFICJOURNAL ' TECHNOLOGY AND HUMAN INTERACTION ' FALL 2009 ' VOLUME 13 ' ISSUE 1 ' 11 K