Despite a few setbacks with the computer chip implanted in his brain, a tetraplegic patient is back to playing video games with his mind. Noland Arbaugh is the first human to receive an implant from Neuralink, a company founded by Elon Musk, representing the latest leap forward in brain-computer interface (BCI) technology.
Cristin Welle, PhD, a systems neurophysiologist at the University of Colorado School of Medicine, said research on brain-computer devices has taken place for decades, but Neuralink has leveraged advancements from academia and other companies to create a small, flexible and wireless device that is surgically implanted in the brain.
“It’s an almost sci-fi, kind of space. We’re letting people control devices with their mind,” Welle said. “It’s an exciting time to be in this space and I think we’re just really at the beginning.”
On the latest episode of the Health Science Radio podcast, Welle shares her fascination with the brain – “the final frontier of human health” – and offers insights into the breakthroughs that are driving neurotechnology. She’s an associate professor in the School of Medicine with joint appointments in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Department of Physiology and Biophysics.
Using ultra-thin, flexible threads with tiny electrodes inserted into the brain, Neuralink’s BCI translates the “chatter” between neurons into output actions, such as clicking a computer mouse or playing a video game. Neurotechnology can also modulate nervous system inputs, via deep-brain stimulation to help patients with Parkinson’s disease.
Welle’s lab explores why neurotechnology works while looking at ways in which devices can change plasticity in the nervous system. Her lab is exploring the potential of vagus nerve stimulation to help patients with epilepsy, depression and loss of motor function from stroke and multiple sclerosis.
“The future vision for myself and many of us in the field is to combine those two things (nervous system outputs and inputs),” Welle said. “It would be really exciting if you could listen to the brain, find out when something is wrong, and then provide a little burst of the right stimulation to help fix it in real time.”
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