Control gadgets with the power of thought. How neural interfaces were born and what they are capable of now

When it comes to technology, Elon Musk is sure to pop up. With one hand, he is trying to colonize Mars, with the other he regularly shakes the global stock and cryptocurrency markets. In 2019, the eccentric businessman introduced his next brainchild to the world - the company Neuralink, which is developing technologies for the brain-computer interface. Startup specialists believe that the results of their research can win some neurological diseases. And in the future - nothing lessimproveA quick guide to Elon Musk's new brain-implant company, Neuralink / Los Angeles Times» person.

However, the experimental monkeys The mask in this matter is far from pioneers.

How it all began

Technologies that allow the exchange of information between the brain and an external device - a computer, prosthesis, smartphone, wheelchair or other medical device - began to develop in the past century. In 1965, the neurophysiologist José Delgado conducted

experimentT. Marzullo. The Missing Manuscript of Dr. Jose Delgado's Radio Controlled Bulls / NCBI: He designed a neurochip and implanted it in the brain of a bull that took part in a bullfight. The tester wanted to prove that various stimuli can be controlled by direct action on the brain. aggression animal.

The experiment went like this: Delgado entered the arena, the bull saw the target, and when the distance between the bullfighter and the animal was reduced to fatal, the scientist pressed a button on the control panel. The bull jumped aside. To consolidate the result, Delgado took out a red flag. There was no revenge: the device saved the researcher from being hit by horns for the second time. The results of the experiment were preserved in video.

Later Professor Delgado continued his successfulT. Marzullo. The Missing Manuscript of Dr. Jose Delgado's Radio Controlled Bulls / NCBI experiments on other animals, and in 1970 in an interview with The New York Times saidBrain Researcher José Delgado Asks— ‘What Kind of Humans Would We Like to Construct?’ / NYT truly revolutionary phrase:

The human race is at a turning point in evolution. We are close to constructing mental functions on our own. The question is, what kind of people would we like to create ideally?‎

Then the results of the scientist's research caused a flurry ethical disagreements. But the potential benefits of the technology outweighed, and the scientific community began experimenting on humans.

The glory of the world's first cyborg went to the paralyzed artist Johnny Ray. Due to a serious injury, he sufferedT. Halan, J. Ortiz, D. Reddy, A. Altamimi, A. Ajibowo, S. Fabara. Locked-In Syndrome: A Systematic Review of Long-Term Management and Forecasting / NCBI locked-in syndrome: unable to move, speak or even blink. In 1998, neurologist Philip Kennedy implantedTurning thoughts into actions / The Washington Post into Johnny's brain microelectrode. Rei had to think of simple movements like raising his hand. Nerve impulses corresponding to these actions moved the cursor on the computer screen. So the paralyzed artist had the opportunity to communicate.

True, not for long. Four years after the operation, the first human cyborg died, and Dr. Kennedy ran out of research grants. Then the doctor decided to sacrifice himself to science and in 2014 implantedThe Neurologist Who Hacked His Brain - And Almost Lost His Mind / Wired electrodes in your own head. To do this, he went to Belize, as the United States banned such experiments. But the very next year, the study had to be curtailed due to the deteriorating health of Dr. Kennedy.

What are neural interfaces

You can create a connection with the device in different ways, so all existing neural interfaces are divided into types:

• Invasive - those that are implanted directly into the brain. The experiments of Delgado and Kennedy are just such.
• Minimally invasive, in which the electrodes are located on the surface of the brain. For example, well-known and long used for the treatment of deafness cochlear implantsCochlear Implant Support: Recommendations from the 2021 World Hearing Report / Cochlear Implant International Community of Action.
• non-invasive - not requiring surgery in principle. This is how many devices work - from electroencephalograms to neurofitness machines.

There is another classification. According to the principle of reading and sending a signal, brain interfaces can be unidirectional (communication works either from person to device or vice versa) or bidirectional (the chip can send and receive signals at the same time). The latter exist so far only at the level of concepts and scientific hypotheses.

Where neural interfaces are already used

The medicine

Only 25 years have passed since the first operation on the brain of a paralyzed artist, but neurotechnology has rapidly rushed forward. Impressive results have been achieved in the field of prosthetics and rehabilitation. For example, in 2016, scientists from Johns Hopkins University createdThought‑controlled prosthetic arm can also send sensory signals to patients / Johns Hopkins University a robotic arm controlled by the power of thought. Specialists from the University of California using the neural interface, muscle stimulation and suspension taughtCh. King, P. Wang, C. McCrimmon, C. Chou. The feasibility of a brain‑computer interface functional electrical stimulation system for the restoration of overground walking after paraplegia / Journal of NeuroEngineering and Rehabilitation re-walk a paralyzed person from the waist down. Another group of researchers succeeded partially reestablishA. Donati, S. Shokur, E. Morya, D. Campos, R. Mooli, C. Gitty, P. Augusto, S. Tripodi, C. Pires, G. Pereira, F. Brazil, S. Gallo, A. Lin, A. Takigami, M. Aratanha, S. Joshi, H. Bleuler, G. Cheng, A. Rudolph, M. Nicolelis. Long‑Term Training with a Brain‑Machine Interface‑Based Gait Protocol Induces Partial Neurological Recovery in Paraplegic Patients / Nature spinal cord in patients using a neurointerface, virtual reality and exoskeleton.

In August 2021, MIT researchers, together with colleagues from Shanghai Zhao Tong University submittedInflatable robotic hand gives amputees real‑time tactile control / MIT News tactile prosthetic hand. It not only allows you to control your fingers, but also returns the sense of touch: you can pet a cat and feel the texture of her soft fur stump.

There are also advances in the field of vision treatment. In 2017 in Russia for the first time held surgery to install bionic implants in patients with damaged retina. A camera built into the glasses transmitted a signal to the cybereye, which sent visual images to the brain. Scientists are now tests technologies of cortical implants. It differs in that the microchip will allow the blind to receive a picture without their eyes. In fact, to see with the brain.

Reading brain signals helps to better understand the emotional state of a person and even cope with some neurological disorders. For example, the neural interface developed by the NeuroAngel startup, defines burnout from work. A PigPug headset helps children with autism spectrum disorder or syndrome attention deficit hyperactivity disorder learn to concentrate and relax.

Entertainment

The gaming industry aims to use the brain-device connection to improve gameplay. Already now, with the help of headsets, you can control characters by concentrating on certain areas of the screen. This is how the same PigPug simulator works. Most likely, in the near future, brain interfaces will help control avatars in the metaverse and individual VR-games.

In 2021, the French company NextMind brought out the first device on the market that allows you to issue commands to a computer and a TV. With the release of a sufficient amount of compatible software, such a headset will open up a lot of inclusive opportunities for those who are unable to control equipment in the usual way.

What can the development of neurotechnologies lead to?

Since the scientist went one on one against a chipped bull, the debate around the symbiosis of neural interfaces and humans has not subsided. Optimistic tech proponents predict an era cyborgs. They believe that such people can be considered representatives of a new branch of evolution. Nature could not help them, but machines helped. British scientist, independent researcher, ecologist and futurist James Lovelock writesCyborgs will replace humans and remake the world, James Lovelock says / NBC News in his book:

The future will be understood not by people, but by those whom I call cyborgs. They design and build themselves.

The connection between natural and artificial intelligence is able to turn our understanding of many things: about managing gadgets, about the perception of information and work processes. In the most daring forecasts of futurologists, the words “telepathy”, “uploading consciousness” and “digital immortality” even flash.

However, the brain and its potential are still poorly understood. So dystopian scripts also exist. Any connection can be hacked, and the brain-computer connection is no exception. Neurointerfaces can potentially be a "pass" into consciousness, and this, according to opponents of the technology, is what you should be afraid of.