Abstract :
Brain chips
are made with a view to enhance the memory of human beings, to help paralyzed
patients, and are also intended to serve military purposes. It is likely that
implantable computer chips acting as sensors, or actuators, may soon assist not
only failing memory, but even bestow fluency in a new language, or enable
"recognition" of previously unmet individuals. The progress already
made in therapeutic devices, in prosthetics and in computer science indicates
that it may well be feasible to develop direct interfaces between the brain and
computers.
This
technology is only under developmental phase, although many implants have
already been made on the human brain for experimental purposes. Let’s take a
look at this developing technology.
Worldwide
there are at least three million people living with artificial implants. In
particular, research on the cochlear implant and retinal vision have furthered
the development of interfaces between neural tissues and silicon substrate
micro probes. There have been many researches in order to enable the technology
of implanting chips in the brain to develop. Some of them are mentioned below.
The Study
of the Brain
The study
of the human brain is, obviously, the most complicated area of research. When
we enter a discussion on this topic, the works of JOSE DELGADO need to be
mentioned. Much of the work taking place
at the NIH, Stanford and elsewhere is built on research done in the 1950s,
notably that of Yale physiologist Jose Delgado, who implanted electrodes in
animal brains and attached them to a "stimoceiver" under the skull.
This device transmitted radio signals through the electrodes in a technique
called electronic stimulation of the brain, or ESB, and culminated
in a now-legendary photograph, in the early 1960s, of Delgado controlling a
live bull with an electronic monitor.
According
to Delgado, "One of the possibilities with brain transmitters is to
influence people so that they conform to the political system. Autonomic and
somatic functions, individual and social behavior, emotional and mental
reactions may be invoked, maintained, modified, or inhibited, both in animals
and in man, by stimulation of specific cerebral structures. Physical control of
many brain functions is a demonstrated fact. It is even possible to follow
intentions, the development of thought and visual experiences."
Brain Cells
and Silicon Chips Linked Electronically:
One of the
toughest problems in neural prosthetics is how to connect chips and real
neurons. Today, many researchers are working on tiny electrode arrays that link
the two. However, once a device is implanted the body develops so-called glial
cells, defenses that surround the foreign object and prevent neurons and
electrodes from making contact.
In Munich,
the Max Planck team is taking a revolutionary approach: interfacing the nerves
and silicon directly. "I think we are the only group doing this,"
Fromherz said.
Fromherz is
at work on a six-month project to grow three or four neurons on a 180 x
180-transistor array supplied by Infineon, after having successfully grown a
single neuron on the device. In a past experiment, the researcher placed a
brain slice from the hippocampus of a monkey on a specially coated CMOS device
in a Plexiglas container with electrolyte at 37 degrees C. In a few days dead
tissue fell away and live nerve endings made contact with the chip.
Computer
scientists predict that within the next twenty years neural interfaces will be
designed that will not only increase the dynamic range of senses, but will also
enhance memory and enable "cyberthink" — invisible communication with
others. This technology will facilitate consistent and constant access to
information when and where it is needed.
The ethical
evaluation in this paper focuses on issues of safety and informed consent,
issues of manufacturing and scientific responsibility, anxieties about the
psychological impacts of enhancing human nature, worries about possible usage
in children, and most troubling, issues of privacy and autonomy.
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