Brain Implant dictionary

Purpose

Brain implants, also known as neural implants or neuroprosthetics, are devices that are surgically inserted into a patients brain to treat medical conditions, boost cognitive function or aid in neurological rehabilitation. Brain implants have a main objective which is to restore the quality of life of people suffering from illnesses like Parkinson's disease, epilepsy [6], or paralysis. Such implants function by stimulating certain areas of the brain or while recording the activity of the brain and delivering feedback to help treat them.

A common use of brain implants is Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) to alleviate symptoms associated with neurological diseases. DBS system includes electrodes that are implanted into the brain, which emit electrical impulses to target regions, assisting in the regulation of movement in patients with Parkinson's disease. Patients with brain injuries could also benefit from brain implants, potentially regaining lost functions or offsetting parts of the brain that are no longer working properly.

Research

Brain implants have seen rapid evolution in the last two decades, albeit largely within the specific domains of neurotechnology, neuroscience and biomedical engineering. Ongoing advanced research is focused on making these implants more effective while reducing risk and broadening applications. Research is continuing with the goal of refining these implants, improving our understanding of the brain's electrical signals and developing more complex systems that could not only heal diseases but also enhance cognition.

A lot of current research focuses on brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), for communication between the brain and outside devices. Such research has enabled advancements such as patients controlling prosthetic limbs or computers just by thinking over them. Other researchers are investigating noninvasive options like transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) and a technique called transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS) that might allow scientists to tune the brain without opening the skull.

Rehabilitation

Brain implants: Used more as Neurorehabilitation for patients recovering from brain injuries, strokes & other disorders of the brain. These implants may help to bring back motor function that was lost or help the brain rewire itself by redistributing damaged functions. In a few cases, for example, cortical stimulators have been utilized in helping excitement of the motor cortex with expectation that it can retrain the mind to control muscle development in someone who has experienced a stroke.

Neuroprosthetics have been used to provide spinal cord injury patients with a limited degree of voluntary muscle activity. Epidural stimulation is an experimental procedure that uses implanted electrodes near the spinal cord to stimulate nerve pathways and potentially restore function in paralyzed individuals.

Brain Implants: A Short History

Brain implants have already existed for a century-autumn. Brain electrical stimulation was first performed in the 1930s and 1940s by scientists such as Wilder Penfield and Robert Heath who initiated the direct electrical stimulation of brain already in humans. His efforts paved the way for future studies exploring electrical currents to remedy neurological diseases.

A significant event in the history of brain implants was Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) development during late 20 century. Deep brain stimulation (DBS) started being used for Parkinsons disease in the late 1980sths and has grown to be a standard therapy for treating movement disorder symptoms. At the onset of brain-computer interfaces in the early 2000s more doors opened for brain implants, although this time not only for rehabilitation and medical purposes but also cognitive augmentation.

Ethical Considerations

The brain issues that development and deployment of these implants will raise, relate to privacy, autonomy, identity, etc. And given that these devices connect directly to the brain, there is a valid concern over how easy it would be for those outside a person to change that person's thoughts and memories and behavior. For example, privacy of thought then becomes an issue: How are we to hold onto our thoughts and ideas if brain implants allow others direct access to them? And there are also worries about the lasting effects of changing the brain and whether implants should be used more for cognitive enhancement than for treating medical conditions.

Another ethical issue is informed consent. Because brain implants are complex, patients need to be clearly aware of the risks and benefits before being implanted. And with this advancement in brain implant technology comes the point of accessibility and inequality, who gets access to these technologies, will they also be available for humanity; shall people have them unless they pay or are we heading towards a very difficult time where not everyone will be able to afford?

Brain Implants in Science Fiction and Academic Philosophy

Brain implants, as a speculative element, have great presence both in fiction and philosophy, revealing questions around the dichotomy of technology versus the human. In these genres, brain implants play with ideas of control, memory and more broadly identity.

Film

In movies, they've shown up in a range of science fiction films. A prominent example of such imagery resides in the 1999 movie The Matrix where characters possess brain implants or "jack-in" devices allowing them to interface with an artificially generated reality. Movies like "Ghost in the Shell" and "Total Recall" address the concept of neural augmentation, whether through some means of implanted technology to improve brain function or conferring false memories.

Think "Strange Days" (1995), which centers on a device that allows one to record and playback another's memories and sensations. While these portrayals are not necessarily a realistic reflection of how real-life brain-machine interfaces will work, they do provoke thought on the issues relating consciousness and device in the human mind.

Television

On television, brain implants are often used to manipulate or augment human experience. Programs such as "Black Mirror" have speculated about the societal consequences of brain implants, Playtest explores technology that allows for a union between the human brain and a hyper-realistic video game by detecting one’s neural signals. With that in mind, the episode explores control and fear, as well as what happens when technology steps just a little too close to the line of our personal consciousness.

In the sci-fi show "Altered Carbon," people can literally transplant their consciousness into as many different bodies as they want, granting themselves some sort of immortality. Brain implants in this regard are a crucial element of the series investigating human selfhood and the morality of mutable consciousness.