The human brain is considered to be the most complex biological structure ever created. Although, science does not yet fully understand the brain, but in the ever-expanding field of neuroscience, researchers have made some progress.
Neuroscientists have made significant progress in mapping the complex functions of the approximately 85 billion neurons in the human brain, and the 100 trillion connections between them. (That's definitely astronomical, with more than 400 billion stars in the Milky Way by comparison.) ）
Now, Neuralink, a Silicon Valley startup backed by Elon Musk, has developed a neural prosthesis device called a brain-computer interface. Musk claims that the chip can cure tinnitus, a neurological disorder that causes tinnitus, within five years. But is it possible?
What is Neuralink?
The coin-sized Neuralink device, known as the "Link," is implanted by a sophisticated surgical robot at a level position with the skull. The robot connects a thousand miniature lines on connectors to specific neurons. The diameter of each thread is a quarter of the diameter of a human hair.
The device connects to an external computer via Bluetooth for continuous back-and-forth communication.
In the future, Neuralink prosthetics may help people with a variety of neurological disorders that are disconnected or malfunctioning between the brain and the nerves that serve the body. This includes paraplegia, quadriplegia, Parkinson's disease and epilepsy.
Since its founding in 2016, Neuralink has been recruiting top neuroscientists from academia and the broader research community to develop technologies to treat these diseases.
Neuralink's monkeys can play Pong games with their brains
In April 2021, the company released an extraordinary proof-of-concept video. Studies have shown that a 9-year-old macaque named Pager successfully played Pong games with his brain by connecting an implanted Neuralink device to the computer running the game.
In the experiment, the researchers showed Pager how to play Pong with a joystick. When it makes the right move, it gets a bite of a banana smoothie as a reward. While the macaque was playing games, the Neuralink implant recorded patterns of electrical activity in its brain, which determined which neurons controlled which movements. Finally, when the joystick is disconnected, Pager is able to play the game and win by relying solely on its brain activity.
Above: Tiger Pager uses his brain to play the computer game "Ping Pong".
Further human trials to develop the Neuralink prototype are expected to begin in late 2022, subject to approval by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration (FDA).
Musk's tinnitus claims
Elon Musk claims that Neuralink devices can cure tinnitus by 2027.
Tinnitus is a neurological disorder that manifests itself as tinnitus or buzzing in the absence of an external source. Tinnitus is a common problem that can occur when the nerve that connects the inner ear to the brain, the vestibular cochlea nerve, is damaged due to prolonged noise, damage, or inadequate blood supply.
Treatments for tinnitus proved elusive. Current treatments focus on masking the sound or learning to ignore it.
Currently, Neuralink prostheses can connect to the cerebral cortex, the surface layer of the brain. Here, the device can repair damage to the brain's ability to process motor sensory input or output.
Is Musk's claim credible?
These claims may seem exaggerated. However, its basic science is not controversial.
Nerve implants have been helping people since the first cochlear implants were implanted in hearing-impaired people in the early 1960s. In the 60 years since, a lot of progress has been made.
Neuroscientists are optimistic about the device's potential to treat tinnitus. It can also be used to treat obsessive-compulsive disorder, repair brain damage, treat autism or degenerative diseases of the nervous system.
As Paul Nuyujukian, director of stanford's Brain Interface Laboratory, observed:
We are at the cusp of a radical paradigm shift. This type of technology has the potential to change our approach to treatment. Not only for stroke, paralysis and motor degenerative diseases, but also for almost all other types of brain diseases.
What do we need to be cautious about?
The FDA classifies Neuralink as a Class III medical device, the highest-risk class. Before human trials can begin, Neuralink must successfully pass the FDA's strict regulatory controls.
To be approved, the company must provide exhaustive clinical trial data from non-human trial subjects, such as Monkey Payer, to conservatively justify moving on to the next stage. In fact, some monkeys have died in Neuralink's tests, and critics have raised concerns about animal welfare.
Therefore, the approval process for human trials may take a while.
Regulators will look for unintended negative consequences of the device, such as depression. Another interesting question is how practical it is to remove or repair it if it fails, and how to manage the risk of brain damage or infection.
Once approved by the FDA, Neuralink will recruit human volunteers, and the next round of trials will continue.
How long it will take for this device to be put on the market, and how expensive it will be, everyone is speculating. It could also take years, and it would likely be expensive and unaffordable for everyone but the wealthy.
Therefore, it is wise not to have false hopes for affordable implants in the short term.
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