BCI Essay

Brain-Computer Interface
By Shawn Lane
A brain computer interface, also known as mind-machine interface, is a direct communication interface
between an external device and the brain, bypassing the need for an embodiment. The signal directly
goes from the brain to the computer, rather than going from the brain through the neuromuscular
system to the finger on a mouse.
Brain interface devices used these days require deliberate conscious thought, while prospective future
applications are expected to work effortlessly. Present research is focused on non-invasive BCI, unlike
the traditional BCI model that requires implanting a mechanical device in the brain, which then tends to
control it as a natural part of the body. (Jonathan R. Wolpawa, 2006)
The history of braincomputer interfaces (BCIs) is brief:

1875: Richard Canton first discovers electrical signals on surface of animal brains.
1929: Hans Berger publishes his first paper on experiments with EEG waves in a human. With this, he
establishes the brains capacity for electric signaling.
1940s: Wilder Penfield maps the motor cortex for the first time using epilepsy patients as subjects.
1950s: Dr. Jose Delgado, a neurosurgeon at Yale University, invents the Stimoceiver, an electrode device
that can be controlled wirelessly by FM radio. He tests it in the brain of a bull and is able to make the
animal charge and change direction by the pushing of different buttons.
1960s: Grey Walter, a neurophysiologist, guides electrodes through the human scalp and performs
experiments to test stimulations that make the thumb of the subject move.
1960s: Elwood Henneman and fellow researchers at Harvard determine the relationship between
neuron firing and motor stimulation. They determine that the relationship between neuron firing and
skeletal muscle movement is based on the size principle, which is, the greater the percentage of neurons
recruited by the brain for the action, the greater maximum force the muscles will have to act.
1972: The cochlear implant, considered the first successful neuromotor prosthesis, is commercially
marketed. Today, over 25,000 people have been implanted with these devices, which allow deaf
individuals to hear by electrically stimulating the auditory nerve, replacing the specialized hair cells in
the ear that are damaged.
1973: Jaques Vidal, an electrical engineer at UCLA, publishes one of the first papers examining the
possibility of a brain-computer interface based on tapping into natural electrical signals (EEG), which he
studied extensively: Can these observable electrical brain signals be put to work as carriers of
information in man-computer communication or for the purpose of controlling such external apparatus
as prosthetic devices or spaceships? Even on the sole basis of the present states of the art of computer
science and neurophysiology, one may suggest that such a feat is potentially around the corner. The
paper is an interesting example of an early study in BCI.
1998: Research Philip Kennedy implants the first BCI into a human subject. While the use of a wireless
di-electrode seemed promising, his BCI was of limited function.
2001: John Donoghue and other Brown University researchers, including neurosurgeon Gerhard Friehs
(see interview section) establish Cyberkinetics to commercially develop his brain-computer interface,
BrainGate. Cyberkinetics, a publicly traded company, has just been cleared to market its first commercial
product, NeuroPort
June 2004: The first human, Matthew Nagle, is implanted with a brain-computer interface,
Cyberkineticss BrainGate, in a surgical procedure in Providence, Rhode Island. According to
Cyberkinetics, Inc., as of March 31, 2005 there are two individuals with the device.
December 2004: Jonathan Wolpaw, M.D and his group at New York State Department of Healths
Wadsworth Center publish a study demonstrating the ability to manipulate a computer. These patients
wear a cap containing electrodes that can pick up EEG signals from the motor cortex.
2005: The Duke-based group under investigator Miguel Nicolelis has received approval for conducting
limited, 30 day studies of brain implants into 16 quadriplegic individuals.(Mike Sadoski M.D. 2013)
What are some of the explicit themes visible here? First, BCI has had a long history centered on control
applications: cursors, paralyzed body parts, robotic arms, phone dialing, etc. Second, many of the
applications are centered on the needs of the disabled community. Third, higher granularities of control
require electrode implants (residing on the brain surfaceyes, a physician drills through your skull)
versus the traditional EEG cap (residing on the head surface).
There are also implicit and subtle themes not fully represented, but deserving mention. First, there is a
lot of complex and expensive hardware and software involved in most of the use cases. Second, a
scientist or clinician is normally assisting in the use of the technology. Third, the inconveniences to the
user are enormous. (Thomas Farland 2014)
What does the future hold for BCIs? Ibrahim Arafat believes that by 2090, Dead Human brains thinking
capability or thinking pattern can be transferred to the computer and computer can process and can
continue this thinking pattern and can give result as Human. It may give Human brain immortality.
(Ibrahim Arafat 2015)
In conclusion, A BCI allows a person to communicate with or control the external world without using
the brains normal output pathways of peripheral nerves and muscles. Messages and commands are
expressed not by muscle contractions but rather by electrophysiological phenomena such as evoked or
spontaneous EEG features (e.g. SCPs, P300, mu/beta rhythms) or cortical neuronal activity. BCI
operation depends on the interaction of two adaptive controllers, the user, who must maintain close
correlation between his or her intent and these phenomena, and the BCI, which must translate the
phenomena into device commands that accomplish the users intent. (Gerald Francis 2010)
www.brainvision.co.uk/blog/2014/04/the-brief-history-of-brain-computer-interfaces/
neurosky.com/2015/06/what-is-bci-and-how-did-it-evolve/
http://biomed.brown.edu/Courses/BI108/BI108_2005_Groups/03/hist.htm
http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~tanja/BCI/BCIreview.pdf

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Brain-Computer Interface

The history of braincomputer interfaces (BCIs) is brief:

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