NAVIGATING THE FRONTIER OF BRAIN IMPLANTS: TRIUMPHS, TRIALS, AND ETHICAL FRONTIERS

By Nicole Yeung

Over the past decades, we have witnessed many breakthroughs during the development of brain implants. With numerous experiments measured and recorded, researchers are currently juggling tasks to seek advancements in these devices while facing major challenges they must overcome at the same time.

Years back, a college student by the name of Gina Arata had physicians implant a device deep in her brain after suffering a car accident. Due to the brain injuries the accident had caused, Arata struggled with focusing; she had a quick temper and couldn’t remember anything. She even had trouble with balancing and driving as she began to collect speeding tickets. After the implant was inserted in her brain, she started to detect changes in behaviour. “Since the implant, I haven’t had any speeding tickets. I don’t trip anymore. I can remember how much money is in my bank account,” quoted Arata. Arata has improved many cognitive abilities, demonstrating that cases like hers reveal how much these devices can have an impact–especially if researchers create enough for more patients to test.

Before getting too excited, there are several complications with these devices that need to be discussed. As many of these implants require surgery which includes health risks, some critics argue that they are reluctant to implant the device in their brain as they are more likely to turn to a worn, non-abrasive device that can be taken off. The problem with the suggested design is that the skull in between the device and brain will muffle the reading of neuronal signals, leading to more problems including inaccuracy.

Not only are there issues with the designs of brain devices that people are looking to see, but there are also issues with the current implants. The process of inserting the device into the brain increases chances of damage as well as the fact that these devices are prone to infections. If migration of the implant occurs, it can result in neurological damage and reduce the efficacy of the treatment. We also know from previous brain implant experiments including the Utah array that scar tissue begins to build up on parts of the device after a certain amount of time, leading to an eventual decline in the quality of signal.

With physical complications considered, ethical questions must be mentioned as well. As the current goal is to aid the people who are dealing with brain traumas and such, researchers fear what will happen if they get sidetracked and start sticking implants in the minds of healthy people just to enhance their daily actions. The dark side of the internet including hackers, harassment, and disinformation may take an even darker turn if the new technology starts breaching our privacy and analyzing our thoughts. Is it right to be implanting foreign objects in a person’s brain?

Although the risks of brain implants listed previously only seem to lengthen, they don’t stop researchers like Elon Musk from maintaining hope. Musk’s plan for his Neuralink neurotechnology company launched in 2016 perseveres as he explains his aim to treat cases such as blindness and paralysis. The implant chip, also referred to as “the Link,” is surgically implanted underneath the skull. In that position, it receives information from neural threads that spread into areas in the brain. Each thread contains electrodes which capture electrical chemical signals sent by communicating neurons across the gaps between their cells. This means that not only our actions themselves will be recorded as our brain’s activity data, but when we think about making those actions will be recorded as well. Those thoughts will then be turned into actions by brain-computer interfaces that collect data from electrodes and translate them through neural decoding, resulting in a programmable understanding of the brain’s possible intention. This process can allow people with conditions such as paralysis to be able to move at a certain level. So far, Neuralink has tested on rats, mice, monkeys, pigs, and sheeps, though Musk’s blog post states that his company has received approval to recruit patients for their first-in-human clinical trials.

As a result of past experiments and an eager audience, researchers are inspired to continue their investigation on the science behind brain implants. We have seen several designs from the past, though most seem to be packaged with some sort of complication. Whether it is lack of accuracy in the device, requiring surgery, or health hazards, it is up to the future to decide how well we can learn and improve brain implants to be viewed as more of an aid than a hindrance.

References

• Bai, Nina. Erickson, Mandy. “Brain implants revive cognitive abilities long after traumatic brain injury.” Stanford Medicine.
• Corbyn, Zoë. “Are brain implants the future of thinking?” The Guardian.
• Regalado, Antonio. “Brain implants could be the next computer mouse.” MIT Technology Review.
• Jewett, Christina. Metz, Cade. “Brain Implants Have Begun to Restore Functions, but Advances Are Slow.” The New York Times.
• “The Safety of Micro-Implants for the Brain.” The National Institutes of Health.
• FitzGerald, James. “Neuralink: Elon Musk’s brain chip firm wins US approval for human study.” BBC News.
• Jarvik, Elaine. “The Bionics Man.” The University of Utah.
• “Utah Array.” Blackrock Neurotech.
• Becher, Brook. “What Is Neuralink? What We Know So Far.” Built In.
• Becher, Brook. “Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI) Explained.” Built In.