Future of thought

Following the opening of the NEURObotics exhibition at the Science Museum, Laboratory News considers how well you know your own mind

With over 100 tiny metal electrodes, the berlin brain computer interface is the most advanced non-invasive system in the world

The human brain is already amazing, and now years of research have produced technologies that could be used to enhance our brains and monitor our deepest thoughts. This interactive exhibition features several pieces of research, the most famous of which is an implant that allows Matthew Nagle, a quadriplegic, to manipulate objects with the power of his mind. Matthew underwent surgery in 2004 to implant a small chip into his brain (PIC 6), and says “it has changed his life”. The implant, called BrainGate was developed by American scientist John Donoghue. For the first time, it allows people to move physical objects by thought alone. The tiny chip picks up signals produced as you think about carrying out an action, and turns them into physical movement. “We hope to achieve the control of a variety of technologies to allow disabled people to carry out everyday tasks,” says Donoghue. The BrainGate implant contains 100 hair-thin electrodes, detecting signals directly from the motor cortex - the brain area that controls movement - and feeding them into a computer to control objects

Along a similar line is the Berlin brain-computer interface which has been developed to allow people to control an on-screen cursor with just the power of their mind. Created by German scientist Klaus-Robert Mueller and colleagues, people are able to use the device to control computers with their minds with only 20 minutes practice.

Simply by thinking about moving their left or right hands, researchers have used the interface to write messages and play simple computer games. It works by recording an individual brain print of what you're thinking. Some people can master two commands, while others can manage up to four. Mysteriously, 1 in 3 people can't control the interface at all, but no one knows why. With over 100 tiny metal electrodes, the Berlin brain-computer interface is the most advanced non-invasive system in existence (PIC 2).

If researchers can speed its processing power enough, the device could herald

An implanted chip picks up signals produced as you think about actions

high-speed gaming, direct from brain to computer. 'Complex human-machine interactions are a long way off, but they are possible - I'm optimistic,' says Mueller.

The prospect of achieving some independence because of these technological developments may be a dream come true for people that have suffered any kind of spinal cord injury. But there are potential problems with using complicated invasive surgery to implant these chips, not to mention the risk of infection.

Reading minds may be the stuff of sci-fi novels but it seems that’s what’s on the horizon if the ‘Think your thoughts are private?’ display is to be believed. It features brain-scanning technology that can be used to spot when we display stressed brainwaves – i.e. when we are lying. Traditional polygraphs are no longer as reliable as they once were as people have learnt how to beat the system. But is this type of scrutiny taking things too far? Larry Farwell uses his Brain Fingerprinting technology to detect details of a crime scene stored in a brain that only the guilty could know. Farwell measures suspects' brain waves using electroencephalography (EEG) while they look at words or pictures. When they recognise something, their brain sends out a characteristic brain-wave pattern, revealing that they remember that potentially incriminating detail. But can you trust the technology? Professor Steven Rose, neurobiologist, write and commentator says, “These technologies are in their infancy and the claims are made by enthusiasts. People will want much more evidence that these experiments have been scientifically validated.”

A much more practical application of examining brain activity has been used recently, for the first time, scientists have used brain-imaging technology to detect that a patient apparently in a vegetative state is actually conscious. Adrian Owen and his team from Cambridge used a functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) scanner to discover that a woman with severe brain damage is fully aware, and can communicate through her thoughts. The 23-year-old woman was in a devastating road accident in 2005 which severely damaged her brain and left her completely paralysed. Because she couldn't talk or move doctors had no idea if she was still aware, and she was diagnosed as being in a vegetative state.

In fact, doctors believe the woman may be conscious and aware of her environment, but unable to tell anyone in the outside world. Owen used an fMRI scanner (PIC 12)to discover if the woman was conscious or not by asking her to imagine doing tasks such as playing tennis.

An fMRI can be used to detect levels of brain damage

Because different parts of your brain are responsible for doing different things, Owen could see which bits of the patient's brain became active at any one time. When he asked her to imagine playing tennis or moving around her house, her brain lit up in exactly the same way as healthy volunteers' brains. Adrian Owen explains: “If you imagine playing a vigorous game of tennis on centre court, many of the bits of your brain that are involved in moving your arms around, the motor areas, will light up just like you were playing in real life. It's extremely sensitive - we can even look at people's scans and know when they're starting to play.”

This technology could be developed to help the woman communicate once again with the outside world. If she wants to say yes to a question she imagines playing tennis. If she wants to say no she imagines moving round her house. A cursor on a computer screen was programmed to go up or down depending on her answer. This could allow her to select different words, pictures or numbers on the screen, moving towards real-time communication. Although these results are amazing, this could be a one-off case because patients in a vegetative state often have much more damage to their brains than this patient, it's unlikely that many are actually conscious. However, in the future this technology could help to diagnose those rare cases where patients are actually fully aware of what's going on and have no way to communicate.

Enhancing performance is an entirely natural desire for human beings. Now it has been demonstrated that performance and creativity can be enhanced by having EEG neurofeedback treatment. Cassie Yukawa, a classical pianist, has demonstrated how this treatment improved her performance.

Improving mental skills of ordinary people can also be done by transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS). By sending a short, strong magnetic pulse through its coil, this TMS machine affects the electrical activity of the brain. TMS can either activate a part of the brain or knock it out momentarily, depending on the pulse's frequency, and depending on the shape of the coil different effects can be seen. A figure-of-eight shape produces a more concentrated effect to target a specific area, while a saddle shape can reach deeper into the brain.

There is debate over how ethical improving brain performance in these ways is though – is it classified as an unfair advantage, or is it no more than employing a personal tutor?

With overviews into research as exciting as this, the Science Museum is sure to meet its target of generating interest and discussion in all visitors. The exhibition is running for the next three months, for more information visit www.sciencemuseum.org.uk

By Alexandra Bailey.
Alexandra is the editor of Laboratory News. She has a degree in Applied Human Biology from Aston University