Health and Tech: More power to the brain

Hyderabad: Back in April 2021, a macaque named Pager played a video game on a computer with its mind. This is not a scene out of a science-fiction movie, but was part of the demonstration of Neuralink, a ‘game-changing’ technology that can potentially enable quadriplegics to operate computers and smart mobile devices with their minds. […]

Hyderabad: Back in April 2021, a macaque named Pager played a video game on a computer with its mind. This is not a scene out of a science-fiction movie, but was part of the demonstration of Neuralink, a ‘game-changing’ technology that can potentially enable quadriplegics to operate computers and smart mobile devices with their minds.

In the demonstration, Pager’s brain signals were wirelessly transmitted to the computer through a coin-sized chip known as ‘Link’ which was implanted in its brain. The idea is that Link would one day enable humans, especially paralytic stroke patients, to regain their independence and control computers and other ‘smart’ devices such as mobile phones through their minds.

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Being developed by top neuroscientists and engineers under Elon Musk, Neuralink, essentially seeks to do engineering with the brain. “Our first goal is to give people with paralysis their digital freedom back: to communicate more easily via text, follow their curiosity on the web, express their creativity through photography and art, and yes, to play video games. After that, we intend to use Link to help improve the lives of those with neurological disorders and disabilities in other ways,” Neuralink scientists wrote in their blog on the Pager experiment.

For example, for people with paralysis, Link could potentially be used to restore physical mobility. To achieve this, we would use Link to read signals in the brain and use them to stimulate nerves and muscles in the body, thereby allowing the person to once again control their limbs, the scientists stated.

The science behind Neuralink?

The human brain has about 86 billion neurons, which are fundamental units and are responsible for sending and receiving information. The neurons are connected to each other and use electrical impulses and chemical signals to transmit information between different areas of the brain and to the rest of the nervous system.

According to the scientists, the electrical signals in the brain can be recorded by placing electrodes near the neurons. “The recording allows us to decode the information represented by those cells. In the movement-related areas of the brain, for example, neurons represent intended movements. There are neurons in the brain that carry information about everything we see, feel, touch or think,” the researchers said in the blog.

Essentially, the electrode or Link is connected directly to the brain to record voltage spikes from individual neurons. The coin-sized electrode can be a neural stimulator (i.e. stimulate neurons) when small currents are delivered through it. Such deep-brain stimulation enables individuals, who have lost their sensation, to feel an object.

Another major potential application of the electrode is that its stimulation can reduce or regulate the uncontrollable involuntary movement that occurs among patients with Parkinson’s.

How the chip interfaces with the brain

The chip that Neuralink is developing is about the size of a coin and would be embedded in the patient’s skull. Micron-scale threads are inserted into areas of the brain that control movement. The threads contain 1,024 electrodes, which in turn get connected to the coin-sized implant called ‘Link’. The threads on Link are so fine that they can’t be inserted manually and neurosurgeons use a robotic system to insert the threads exactly where they need to be.

Currently, the researchers are developing a Brain Computer Interface (BCI) system in such a way that it is safe and has full wireless communication through the skin. They are working towards making it ready for people to take home and use on their own.