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There are many different types of Brain Machine Interfaces (BMIs), but they have two common goals:
- How do we get the right information out of the brain?
- This is about recording what neurons are saying.
- Generally involves reading signals that are already in the nervous system, and sending them out to a computer system. Examples of this are some incredibly advanced devices, such as sensing bionic limbs, which involve paths running in both directions.
- How do we send the right information into the brain?
- This focuses on stimulating neurons to input information.
- Generally involves an augmented or artificial sensory organ sending signals into the nervous system. Examples of this are a cochlear or ocular implant.
These are two things that happen in the brain all the time. Inputting and outputting information are some basic functions of the brain, and that's what the BMI industry want to replicate using computers.
The BMIs we Already Have
The BMIs we Already Have
The first real brain machine interface was created in 1969. A researcher named Eberhard Fetz connected a single neuron in a monkey's brain to a dial in front of its face. The monkey would have to think in a certain way to fire the neuron, which would in turn move the dial. Each time the monkey would think in this certain way and move the dial, they would give him a banana flavored pellet. After a while, the monkey learned what was happening, and got better and better at moving the dial by firing the neuron, and was given more and more pellets.
Human experimentation is only possible when BMIs are being used to fix an impairment. Currently, that's the biggest demand in the industry, so most of our efforts have focused on helping people with disabilities.
There are three major categories of BMI that the industry is currently working on. One uses the motor cortex to control the BMI, another is artificial eyes and ears, and the third is deep brain stimulation.
Motor Cortex to Control BMIs
Motor Cortex to Control BMIs
- As we discussed earlier, we are unaware of how most of the brain works. However, the motor cortex is one of the areas that we know more about.
- There are two important aspects of the motor cortex that led to its use for the controlling BMIs:
- It has a very specific structure and certain parts control certain functions of the body.
- The brain uses the motor cortex as a remote control for the rest of the body. It's one of the major areas in charge of the output.
The goal of these BMIs is to find a way into the motor cortex, and then hear the command that it sends and transfer it into a machine to release an output.
← How it normally works
← How it works with BMIs
Artificial Eyes and Ears
Artificial Eyes and Ears
While the motor cortex focuses on the output, artificial senses are more about the input. Artificial eyes and ears function to stimulate neurons to send information into the brain.
- Cochlear Implants
- The cochlear implant is one of the more recent developments in BMI technology, and its effects have been extremely impactful on many people.
- Most people with hearing problems have a problem only in their ears—their brains can still convert electrical impulses into sound. However, their auditory cortexes can't receive any of these impulses because that part of their ears don't work.
- The cochlea controls the conversion to allow a person to hear. When sound vibrations reach the cochlea, thousands of hairs in the cochlea begin to vibrate and the cells on those hairs excite the auditory nerve.
- The implant is a tiny computer with a microphone on one end and a wire on the other. The microphone sits on the ear, and the wire connects to electrodes in the cochlea.
- Sound enters the microphone and goes through the implant, which processes the sound and filters out the unnecessary frequencies.
A cochlear implant is a little computer that has a microphone coming out of one end (which sits on the ear) and a wire coming out of the other that connects to an array of electrodes that line the cochlea.
So sound comes into the microphone (the little hook on top of the ear), and goes into the brown thing, which processes the sound to filter out the less useful frequencies. Then the brown thing transmits the information through the skin, through electrical induction, to the computer’s other component, which converts the info into electric impulses and sends them into the cochlea. The electrodes filter the impulses by frequency just like the cochlea and stimulate the auditory nerve just like the hairs on the cochlea do.
2. Retinal Implants
- Blindness is often caused by problems with the retina, in which case a retinal implant can help a little. Though the retinal implant is not as developed as the cochlear implant, it performs similar duties such as sending information to the nerves through impulses.
- While a retina has around a million neurons, a retinal implant is limited to only about 60 sensors. However, it allows people to see vague shapes and light and dark, which is an improvement over not being able to see anything at all. 600-1000 electrodes would be enough to be able to read and recognize faces, which we will be able to develop.
Deep Brain Stimulation
Deep Brain Stimulation
Deep brain stimulation uses a few electrode wires, inserted into the brain, and a pacemaker computer, implanted in the chest and wired to those electrodes. When needed, the electrodes can give a zap to help with tremors associated with Parkinson's, seizures, and OCD. In the future, it will be approved to treat certain types of chronic pain, anxiety, depression, or even PTSD.
“Neuralink and the Brain's Magical Future.” Wait But Why, 13 Apr. 2018, waitbutwhy.com/2017/04/neuralink.html.
Grabianowski, Ed. “How Brain-Computer Interfaces Work.” HowStuffWorks, HowStuffWorks, 2 Nov. 2007, computer.howstuffworks.com/brain-computer-interface.htm.
Templeton, Graham. “What Are Brain-Machine Interfaces, and How Do They Work?” ExtremeTech, 23 Oct. 2015, www.extremetech.com/extreme/216773-what-are-brain-machine-interfaces-and-how-do-they-work.
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