Mind Control

Weiss, P. (2005). Mind Control. In P. De Palma. (Ed.), Computers in society (pp. 213-216). Dubuque, IA: McGraw-Hill.
Unit 8, Article 46

Review by Kim Doyle

This article by Peter Weiss considers how advanced software is being used to alleviate chronic pain and restore motor function to quadriplegics. By inserting a device called brain-computer interface (BCI) into the brain, researchers are running clinical trials to prove that function can return to a paralyzed person. The article begins by telling the story of Matthew Nagle, a victim of a stabbing rendering him unable to use his arms or legs, paralyzed from the neck down. Despite his condition, he is now able to play Pong. He can because of microelectrodes that have been implanted in his brain that read neural activity. Processors read patterns associated with arm motions that are then translated into signals that control the Pong paddle. The device is called BrainGate, developed by John Donoghue, head of neuroscience at Brown University. Eventually Donoghue hopes to hook BrainGate up to stimulators that can activate muscle tissue, compensating for a damaged nervous system.

Some physicians are skeptical about the use of BrainGate. Fearful that not enough is known about the device, these medical professionals think it may have been premature to plant it in the brain of a human being. They claim less invasive options are available. Nonetheless, as soon as Matthew Nagle learned of the clinical trials, he begged his doctors to let him be the first subject. He is now convinced he will be walking again someday as a result of using BrainGate. Likewise, Donoghue is convinced that embedding electrodes in the brain of paralysis victims is the only promise at this point of restoring mobility.

Reaction

I think this is absolutely incredible. It is inconceivable to me that someone can be so brilliant as to think of something as revolutionary as BrainGate. What hope it will offer to those who have been victims of terrible accidents and are no longer able to move! Even though it may not accomplish everything its designer hopes it will, Donoghue is still taking a major step forward on behalf of those who cannot take a step themselves.