Reporting by XinZhiyuan
Edited by: David, Time
Recently, the mechanical arm of brown university's neuroscience laboratory is really praised, and it has successfully fed coffee to people with physical disabilities. Implanting a chip in the human brain and controlling the human brain in a brain-computer combination has entered reality from science fiction.
Implanting a chip in the human brain and controlling the human brain in a brain-computer combination has entered reality from science fiction.
Recently, the Brown University Neuroscience Laboratory showed this picture:
A paralyzed, unable to speak patient, installs a system called BrainGate. The system consists of a tiny array of electrodes implanted in the motor cortex, a plug that sits freely overhead, a signal amplifier the size of a shoebox, and a computer equipped with software for decoding the patient's nerve signals.
The patient tries to pick up a bottle of coffee with a robotic arm, which she holds in her hand, brings it to her mouth, and takes a sip from the straw.
At present, implanting a chip in the human brain to control the human brain in a brain-computer combination has entered reality from science fiction.
Brain-computer combination, from science fiction to reality
In the past 20 years, implantable treatment devices have been well popularized around the world, and artificial knees and artificial pacemakers have been widely used.
For those with limited mobility, machines help people with disabilities achieve freedom of movement by listening to and understanding brain language.
In the case of a Parkinson's patient, the pacemaker-like device outputs an electric current that blocks abnormal neural activity in the area and stops shaking the patient's hand.
At present, the combination of man and machine has mainly gone through three stages:
The first stage is to stimulate the patient's body disorder so that the obstacle area can be moved;
The second stage is to transmit the signal to the robotic arm, so that the robotic arm can realize the activity, such as the robotic arm coffee;
The third stage is the direct communication between people and computers, so that the mind is transformed into action, and the type is written as desired.
At present, the research of human-machine combination is in the third stage, and scientists are working to achieve direct communication between the human brain.
In the future, not only electric current stimulation, but also optical stimulation.
An array of electrodes that read the patient's brain signals
The device implanted in the brain is like installing a painting on a jelly, and the "fragility" of the flesh is somewhat unbearable:
The wound left by the "brain hole" makes the patient susceptible to infection;
The array of electrodes inevitably causes damage to brain tissue, which is composed of a hundred strands of hair and protrudes from the brain;
Every shake of the electrode has the potential to tear the connection and lose contact with the original neuron.
The electrode array is made up of a hundred strands of hair, implanted in the brain
Alternatively, researchers may spend months training specific cells, but those cells will eventually die.
Eventually, the patient's body's defense system automatically shuts down the experiment.
Over time, scar tissue forms around the electrodes, isolating them from neighboring neurons and rendering them ineffective.
The principle of brain-computer combination - decoding algorithm
Researchers collect these brain signals through chips and perform real-time mathematical calculations on them, just like mobile phones and computers work, a process we call: decoding algorithms.
The decoding algorithm can run on a custom silicon chip because it consumes extremely little energy, which not only helps extend the battery life of the implanted device, but also means that there is no need to worry about the battery overheating, and the chip can read and use these signals to continue to transmit the signals.
The principle of brain-computer interface is to some extent to let brain signals interact with computer signals, when one neuron wants to communicate with another neuron, it will emit a weak electrical pulse called action potential.
One neuroscience problem that researchers must understand is where and how different signals are encoded in the human brain.
Take the artificial retina, for example, which helps blind people rebuild light and is probably the most successful neuroprosthesis to date.
The artificial retina is implanted in the patient's eye, just like a lens to light, converting the light information into an electrical stimulation signal and reconstructing vision.
The role of the brain-computer interface is to read a person's neural activity and use it to drive the machine.
Translating neural activity into action in the brain is a technology that can really improve the lives of people with physical disabilities.
The human brain and the machine are combined, who will take the lead?
Will the brain's satisfaction of "being in control" still exist?
If the patient controls the machine through the brain-computer interface, then when the human brain is combined with the machine, who will take the lead?
Losing control of the body will be one of the most brutal experiences a person can have.
This cruelty is not only physical, but also psychological. 、
The brain exists to perceive the world, to make predictions, to control the world. There is an electrochemical reward system in the brain that brings a great sense of "satisfaction" to the body.
That is, when the body loses this perception, the satisfaction of the whole person also disappears.
In the translation and translation of neural signals by brain-computer interfaces, some information may be lost. Currently, researchers have not intervened in any effective way to engage in the dialogue between "consciousness" and machines.
Scientists have a hard time hearing these conversations, and what they see is that the cup is picked up, the patient successfully drinks the coffee, and the experiment is a complete success.
In 1999, the famous science fiction movie "The Matrix" depicted the virtual world of "intubation behind the head": Matrix.
Today, these movie scenes have become scenes of life.
Technology has brought great blessings to mankind, and I am afraid that it will create some problems.
If something goes wrong, who will be held responsible?
More details about the combination of man and machine need to be further explored.
Resources:
https://www.wired.com/story/when-mind-melds-machine-whos-in-control-brain-computer-interface/
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ogBX18maUiM
https://thenextweb.com/news/how-brain-computers-could-make-the-matrix-real
https://v.qq.com/x/cover/mzc002005gp6ycf/p3313qoy2td.html