Release date: 2015-12-29
A few weeks ago, Ray Kurzweil predicted that in the 2030s, nanobots would help us connect our brains to cloud computing to connect organisms to the digital world. Let us discuss what is going on today. In the past few decades, billions of dollars have been invested in three research areas: neuroprostheses, brain-computer interfaces, and optogenetics. These three areas of research have been transforming humans and have solved many problems that have plagued human natural evolution. This article is about the latest developments in these areas, covering the most exciting applications today and applications that have the potential to have disruptive impacts in the future.
Neuroprosthesis, brain-computer interface and optogenetics
Your brain contains hundreds of billions of neuronal cells. These cells shape you now and control your behavior, thinking and feelings. Combined with your sensory organs (such as eyes and ears), these systems determine how you perceive the world. Sometimes these systems will also fail. This is also the meaning of the existence of a neural prosthesis.
"Neuroprosthetics" refers to the use of electronic devices to replace the function of the damaged nervous system or sensory organs. The concept of "nerve prosthesis" has been around for a while - the first cochlear implant appeared in 1957 to help deaf people hear the sound. Since then, more than 350,000 cochlear implants have been implanted in the ears of the deaf in the world, helping them to recover their hearing and greatly improving their quality of life. But the implantation of such a cochlear implant is only concerned with the brain-computer interface (BCI) field of research: the direct communication between the brain (CNS CNS) and external computing devices.
The vision in the field of brain-computer interface (BCI) is to increase or repair human cognition by connecting the digital world to the central nervous system. How to achieve a connection to the central nervous system is a very interesting part. There are usually two methods. One method is to connect the wires and neurons to a microscopic array of fine metal needles that are attached to the brain, to electrically stimulate the neurons, or to measure the potential of the neurons when they are excited. The second method is more interesting "optogenetics" - using light to control neurons. Through this mechanism, we can implant a photoactive molecule onto the surface of the neuron, and then the photoactive molecule can allow an external user to trigger or inhibit the excitation state of the neuron through pulsed light of a certain frequency.
At present, the brain-computer interface field and the neural prosthesis field are still in the initial stage. Through the following examples, we can see the possible application areas of these technologies, and also help us understand the future possibilities of these technologies.
Current application:
1 See: About 70 blind people have undergone retinal implantation for about 3 hours. As described, "glass-type lenses can capture image data; then after the image data is processed by a microcomputer on the data line, the corresponding information can be sent to the neural stimulation array, which is implanted onto the retina, including 60 electrodes." Although there is still a long way to go to fully restore vision, using a camera to enhance or replace a failed photoreceptor is very promising.
2 Hear: As mentioned earlier, over the past 60 years, more than 350,000 cochlear implants have been implanted in many deaf ears. The microphone can capture sound from the surrounding environment and transmit the signal to the speech processor, which can then convert the signal into an electrical pulse. The electrode array can transmit these pulses to different areas of the auditory nerve, allowing us to hear the sound in the place where the malfunction occurs in the ear.
3 Feeling Pain: Many companies and research groups (including Stanford University) are working hard to explore how to use optogenetics to “close†human perception of chronic pain, all by pressing the flashlight button that is aimed at the patient's skin. Just fine. Pain is the main reason people go to see a doctor, and the corresponding cost is 635 billion US dollars per year.
4 Movement/ideas: 15 to 20 paralyzed patients have implemented implants into the motor cortex (the part of the brain that can control movement) so that they can control the external robotic arm; more magically, through Stimulation of the electrodes implanted in the limbs can even rejuvenate the paralyzed limbs.
5 Hunger: Like pain, hunger is a feeling. Stanford researchers are exploring how to use optogenetics to regulate vagal stimulation, thereby suppressing hunger.
6 Memory: A researcher at the University of Southern California is working on ways to help people with epilepsy recover their memories. He hopes to implant computer chips into the hippocampus of patients so that they can encode and access the patient's memory.
7 Anxiety: Stanford University Karl Deisseroth and colleagues “discovered that there is a special circuit in the amygdala (a part of the brain that is the center of fear, aggression, and other basic emotions) that is expected to regulate the anxiety of rodents.†In optogenetics, we can turn this loop off to control these emotions.
The application areas we can carry out in the future can be said to be very exciting.
The future - where does brain research go?
As neuroscientist David Eagleman pointed out recently at TED, our experience with reality is constrained by our biological characteristics. And when we develop new ways to pass new signals or computing power to the brain, it all will change. We can add a new feeling (imagine you can enter the stock market and be aware of the market direction). We can develop wireless, brain-to-brain communication (ie, artificial telepathy) and pass on information to others through thinking.
Our brain is a platform, and new application opportunities are endless. These applications will challenge the concept of human beings, what it means to be human. As Ray Kurzweil predicts, once we connect our cerebral cortex to cloud computing, we may become a species far beyond "human."
Source: Heart of the machine
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