Your Handbook to BCI’s
Brain text mom; “Can we have pizza for dinner?”… send.
Brain is not a voice assistant nor a voice recognizer in similarity to Siri or Alexa; it is literally your brain as you are telepathically sending a text message. Wondering if that’s even possible: let me tell you, it is. Well not now in the current moment of time at least. Rising technologies have made futuristic imaginaries a reality.
Just the idea of connecting my brain to a computer sounds absolutely fictional to me. However, as I did my research and was exposed to a wild array of technologies. I have found that this in fact is being done and there’s a variety of methods that it’s being used for.
Three letters… BCI. Or well brain-computer interfaces also known as a brain-machine interface (BMI) are a direct communication pathway between an enhanced or wired brain and an external device. In brief, what BCI’s do to send messages from the brain to the computer. For instance, the BCI would record then interpret and decode the brain signals. However, before we get into depth let's learn more about the brain.
The Brain
You may have heard this before, but let me restate it as a recap. The brain is one of the largest and most complex organs in the human body. There are numerous different aspects within the brain that controls specific skills that one can do and the functions that play throughout their daily lives. It is the center of the central nervous system which comprises both the brain and the spinal cord. Generally, the brain is what makes you… you. It controls our thoughts, memory, speech, movement, and the function of the organs within our bodies.
The different lobes:
- Frontal Lobes — behavior, emotions, personality, judgment, planning, problem skills, body movement, writing, speaking, concentration, self-awareness
- Parietal Lobes — interpret language, words senses, spatial and visual perception
- Temporal Lobes — understanding language, memory, hearing, sequencing, and organization
- Occipital Lobes — vision, color, light, movement
Neurons
Definition — cells responsible for receiving sensory input from the external world, for sending motor commands to the muscles, and for transforming and relaying the electrical signals at every step in between.
There are more neurons within your brain than there are stars in our galaxy. Insane right? On average; an adult brain contains about 100 billion nerve cells and within most of these neurons, they have a soma (nucleus), an axon, dendrites, and axon terminals.
Within the neuron; dendrites would extend from the neuron’s cell body and receive messages from other neurons. Synapses are the contact point where one neuron communicates to each other where they’ll transmit electrical impulses as well as neurotransmitters a specialized molecule.
Want to read this story later? Save it in Journal.
muscle movement = brain activity
What exactly are BCI’s?
Now changing the ways a person can interact with technology; BCI’s are a device that consists of sensors that measure the brain’s signals — these are also known as electrodes. Brain signals where electrical impulses are traded off from neuron to neuron are recorded and interpreted for it then to be decoded by the computer. They measure brain signals and the brain functions through wavelengths which are then formatted to an algorithm that would then be understood by the computer.
The computer can translate the signals into commands to control computer programs and/or devices. Since the BCI relies on the ability of the brain to generate certain responses; it’s possible to tell a computer to perform the task of moving a prosthetic arm.
This tech has been in a process of development for decades. These neural interfaces that interact with our nervous systems could either be placed inside or outside of our bodies. They can change one from becoming disabled to able. Brain-Computer Interfaces can replace phamreutrical drugs helping humans not only to heal but to perform better. They are changing the ways in how humans interact with tech.
EEG vs. ECoG
There are three types of BCI’s (I'll be going over two types):
- Non-Invasive — wearables like headsets or headbands
- Invasive — surgically implanted directly into the grey matter of the brain
- Semi Invasive — surgically implanted inside the body, but not directly in the brain
EEGs
Electroencephalograms or in short EEGs are devices that detect and measure electrical activity in your brain using small, metal discs (electrodes) that are placed right on your scalp. Having a variety of different formats, they generally come in caps and/or headbands, providing a non-invasive method to record electrical activity within the brain. EEGs detects brain activity that could occur during an event or spontaneously.
They generally figure the activity of large groups of neurons that are active at the time within a small area of the brain instead of the activity of a single neuron, because that the EEGs have a low spatial resolution meaning it doesn’t represent where the signal is coming from.
To understand what that means; imagine a pond and some pebbles. Throwing a pebble into the middle of the pond the water within it would ripple and hit the edge of its surroundings. However the sensor can not detect that ripple, instead, there would be multiple pebbles thrown at once in the middle of the pond it would generate multiple ripples around that area. The sensor would be able to detect that.
Having the ripples caused by the contact between water and pebbles representing a neuron’s activity and contact between water and pebbles be representing brain activity. However, they do have a high temporal resolution meaning they generate instant feedback from the response of a patient showing live brain action.
Primarily measuring postsynaptic potentials instead of action potentials; they provide an image of the electrical frequency that could have a variety of clinical implications. They can:
- Diagnose epilepsy
- Monitor sleep for sleeping disorders
- Detect seizures
- Provide info about a variety of brain dysfunctions
ECoG
ECoG short for electrocorticography… wow try saying that three times fast. Is an invasive method that uses electrodes to be placed directly on an exposed surface of the brain for it to record any electrical activity from the cerebral cortex (an area within the brain). However, it does not go through the blood-brain barrier, meaning the ECoG doesn’t go inside the brain and instead only the surface of it. It provides a higher spatial resolution (higher neuroimagery) and higher signal to noise ratio compared to the EEG.
They provide a performance status to figure how a patient’s disease is progressing and how it is affecting their daily lives to figure the appropriate treatment. Generally, they are in the similarity range as an EEG where the difference is only where one is more invasive and one is non-invasive.
Huge use of ECoGs ties with epilepsy patients. This device allows doctors to create a map of the brain to determine where exactly the epilepsy is occurring within the brain, helping to localize exactly where the part of the brain is causing the ongoing seizures for it to remove. Allowing relief for the patient and enhancing their ability to live their daily lives.
Instead of removing a portion of one’s brain a company has come up with a device to prevent seizures from occurring with the use of ECoGs and BCI’s. This company is known as NeuroPace (learn more about it down below)
A Few Companies working w/ BCI’s
NeuroPace
Their goal is to stop seizures from starting… when they start occurring. They would localize an area within the brain that makes a contribution to the main cause of the seizures occurring and would place a device known as the RNS system. This is much different from any source of medication since it’s a medical device that would treat a seizure focus when the seizure is caused.
The device is a miniature implantable neurostimulator that is connected to leads (tiny wires) that are placed in the area where seizures are most active within the brain.
The RNS System is responsive in real-time; when a seizure is occurring (because of irregular electric brain activity) the device would respond within milliseconds stimulating electrical signals and pulses that would interfere before any seizure symptoms could occur. These electrical pulses normalize the patient’s brain waves often before the seizure occurs. As this is going on the patient would not be able to feel any of the two scenarios happening, it’s completely silent.
The device is constantly monitoring the patient even when the patient is sleeping. In the long-term; patients have received seizure reductions, a significant improvement in the quality of their life, and positive cognitive effects. They provided the world’s first and only brain responsive neurostimulation system.
Muse
A wearable brain sensing headband that measures brain activities through EEG sensors. Muse is a company making powerful and compact electroencephalography systems that are able to sense electrical rhythms that give immediate feedback to enhance a calm meditative pattern. This is also accompanied by a mobile app as it converts the signal into audio feedback that is fed through the user’s headphones.
Muse makes it easy to access the use of brain wave data inside and outside of a laboratory and into a real-world environment. Research has been done by numerous institutions using these devices; including Harvard and NASA.
Neurosky Mindwave
The family of NeuroSky MindWave headsets is designed to be used by developers to market quickly with complete EEG-monitoring products. NeuroSky’s brain-computer interface works by monitoring electrical impulses with a forehead sensor. The neural signals are inputted in a ThingGear chip that is interpreted with patented attention and meditation algorithms. They are known to be ‘Brain Wearables’… cool right!
Neuralink
Neuralink is a company run by Elon Musk that aims to merge man and machine to keep humans ahead of AI… crazy right? However, they do have multiple goals that they would like to reach with a link. Including to build devices that will help people with paralysis and invent tech that will expand the community and basically… the whole world.
Neuralink is an invasive type of BCI and the tech that it uses is a neural lace, which is an ultra-thin mesh that could be implanted in the skull and forms a body of electrodes that are able to monitor brain function. The neural lace is built out of 3072 flexible electrode threads.
What ifs
Tying it with ethics; who determines the minimum of how far BCI’s can advanced and what they do? Since this piece of technology has been so new and still at its development stage, what are people going to do once it has reached its peak… and what exactly does the peak look like? Here are a few ideas that could make BCI’s a little ‘sketchy’ in a format of what-if questions.
- What if people could see other’s emotions and moods and they don’t what that to happen.
- What if there’s no minimum determined… how far will we go?
- What if someone's brain taps my head and makes me do something I don’t want to do?
- What if instead of computer viruses there would be mind viruses?
- What if the person who creates the formatted system discriminates against certain people and they don’t get the equal value of the tech as others?
- What if only certain people are allowed to get their hands onto the tech?
The Future… What’s next?
Currently, they are seen to be seen through both medically and gaming systems. They can restore or change what we do, by helping people to hear, treat Parkinson's disease, treat people with paralysis to walk again. From enhancing medical skills to enhancing our abilities and interactions with tech. The possibilities of how we may be able to use BCI’s are endless. Here are just a few possibilities that could be true:
- Visually typing — thought to text
- Surgery could be done virtually anywhere
- Brain tutoring — the idea of transferring a person’s knowledge to another
- Assistive tech for paralysis can improve
- Gaming with only a BCI controller
- Telepathy
When thinking of the stereotypical future where flying cars would be roaming through the sky and we are all talking through telepathic methods; BCI’s make it a true happening. Not only can we enhance the future with BCI’s it can rid of pharmaceutical drugs for certain illnesses. Generally, BCI’s are not only working on a future where brain and tech fuse together seamlessly, but to help those in need.
More from Journal
There are many Black creators doing incredible work in Tech. This collection of resources shines a light on some of us:
