>From the New York Times -------------------- With Tiny Brain Implants, Just Thinking May Make It So By ANDREW POLLACK
Published: April 13, 2004 Can a machine read a person's mind? A medical device company is about to find out. The company, Cyberkinetics Inc., plans to implant a tiny chip in the brains of five paralyzed people in an effort to enable them to operate a computer by thought alone. The Food and Drug Administration has given approval for a clinical trial of the implants, according to the company. The implants, part of what Cyberkinetics calls its BrainGate system, could eventually help people with spinal cord injuries, strokes, Lou Gehrig's disease or other ailments to communicate better or even to operate lights and other devices through a kind of neural remote control. "You can substitute brain control for hand control, basically," said Dr. John P. Donoghue, chairman of the neuroscience department at Brown University and a founder of Cyberkinetics, which hopes to begin the trial as early as next month. The melding of man and machine has long been a staple of science fiction. Indeed, the participants in Cyberkinetics's clinical trial, who have not yet been chosen, will have a cable sticking out of their heads to connect them to computers, making them look something like characters in "The Matrix." But in real life, several research groups have already implanted devices in monkeys that allow them to control cursors on computer screens or move robot arms using their brainpower alone, setting the stage for the trial in people. "Among many people in the field, there's a feeling now that the time is here for moving the technology to test in humans," said Dr. Richard A. Andersen, professor of neuroscience at the California Institute of Technology, who is working on his own device for the brain. Still, for the trial, there is trepidation mixed with anticipation. "A disaster at this early stage could set the whole field back," said Dr. Dawn M. Taylor, a research associate at Case Western Reserve University and the Cleveland Veterans Affairs Medical Center, who is testing similar systems in monkeys. Devices have long been implanted in the brains of patients with Parkinson's disease to deliver pulses of electricity that reduce tremors and rigidity. But systems like BrainGate do not deliver current. Instead, they listen to the electrical signals produced by the brain's neurons as they work. The aim is to discern a pattern of neuronal activity indicating the intention to initiate a particular physical movement. In typical monkey trials of neural implants, the animals, which are not paralyzed, are trained to perform a task, like moving a cursor with a joystick, while a tiny subset of their neurons is monitored. After different patterns of neuronal signals are matched with different body movements, cursor control is shifted to their brains. In some studies, the monkeys eventually appeared to realize that they no longer had to move their arms to perform the tasks. In a sense, this is a form of mind reading, scientists say. But in addition to passively letting its thoughts be read, the brain also learns to control the cursor actively, just as it acquires any new skill. The quadriplegics in the trial will not be able to move their arms to train the system, making things a little harder. Instead, they must imagine moving their arms. Researchers have already shown that this can be done. Dr. Philip Kennedy, a neurologist in Atlanta who started Neural Signals Inc., implanted electrodes into several severely disabled people starting in 1996, and at least one could type through this method, though only three words a minute. Some other implants have been tested briefly on people undergoing brain surgery for other reasons. Dr. Jonathan R. Wolpaw of the New York State Department of Health has developed a system that does not require implants but uses electroencephalography to pick up brain waves using sensors attached to the scalp. Though Cyberkinetics is not the first to try neural control in people, it seems the most intent on bringing a product to market, perhaps by 2007 or 2008, said its chief executive, Timothy R. Surgenor. Started in 2001 and based in Foxborough, Mass., the company has raised $9 million for the project. ------- To unsubscribe, change your address, or temporarily deactivate your subscription, please go to http://v2.listbox.com/member/[EMAIL PROTECTED]
