The idea of creating a connection between a human brain and a computer has been thought of as science fiction but recent advancements are making this idea a reality. Now I'm not talking about EEG electrodes that measure brain activity, what I mean is a machine being able to affect our brain and vise versa. In a more recent project, researchers at Neuralink were able to successfully implant electrodes onto the brain that can send and receive data in real time (Musk & Neuralink, 2019). The more immediate applications for this capability is being able to restore sensory and motor functions that were previously lost due to neurological disorders. Unlike EEG electrodes, these electrodes required a small portion of the skull to be removed and replaced with a device containing a USB port that would mediate the connection between the brain and a computer.
Historically speaking, deep brain stimulation has been around since the 80's for treatments of seizures and epilepsy (Kwon, Jette, & Ghatan, 2020). Since our brain is capable of conducting electrical currents, a device that does the same thing can be used to upregulate impulses that are deficient. In the future we could be seeing a device that is connected to the brain similar to the one developed by Neuralink and then interfaced with a prosthetic robotic appendage for basic motor control.
Kwon, C. S., Jetté, N., & Ghatan, S. (2020). Perspectives on the current developments with neuromodulation for the treatment of epilepsy. Expert review of neurotherapeutics, 20(2), 189–194. https://doi.org/10.1080/14737175.2020.1700795
Musk, E., & Neuralink (2019). An Integrated Brain-Machine Interface Platform With Thousands of Channels. Journal of medical Internet research, 21(10), e16194. https://doi.org/10.2196/16194
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