Joseph Tam - Technology & World Change blog.: 11/13/13

Telekinesis, made possible by BCIs [1]

Joseph Tam Chun Kit (joseph.tam.2013@accountancy.smu.edu.sg), 1^st Year Student, School of Accountancy, Singapore Management University (SMU)

Executive Summary

The paper will cover on the development of Brain Computer Interface (BCI) technology throughout the years, and examine the two major focus of BCI research today: Invasive BCI, and non-invasive BCI. It will address the applications of BCI in our current situation, and examine the shortcomings of each of the two major areas at the moment. Lastly it will analyse the future applications that such a technology would have, as well as the limitations and issues that it would face.

1. Introduction

The idea of being able to control objects with our mind seems like something that is right out of a science fiction novel. The principle which makes BCIs possible are the electrical activity that occurs in our brain and the changes in electrical potential generated by brain activity with regards to stimulation (Lebedev and Nicolelis, 2006), had already been discovered close to a 100 years ago, but it has only been in the past 20 years where developments in the technology of BCIs have occurred.

EEG technology is based on obtaining readings of electrical activity detected on the scalp, of which the basis that non-invasive BCIs are developed upon. Invasive BCIs on the other hand require surgery to implant the BCI device into, or near, the brain. As such non-invasive BCIs offer the advantage of being more convenient for use as well as socially acceptable and thus offer greater applications in the future.

As we can see from revolutions such as the i-phone which offered bought convenience to the users by being able to have many functions and operate a multitude of applications, and the internet which introduced a new method of communication compared to the traditional media, innovations in such areas have more potential to be revolutionary because it is application to everyone.

This paper will cover the introduction of BCI’s through the developments in the use of EEG which then led further developments of BCIs itself. It will then cover the current applications and uses of BCIs in our industry, which would be mainly the healthcare sector and the entertainment sector to a lesser extent. It would examine the limitations that BCI technology faces today in its sectors of influence, and contemplate the factors that are holding it back. Moving on to the future, the sectors whereby BCI would be able to influence, as well as the new problems that would inevitably arise. Finally, the paper would weigh the positive and negative effects that BCI technology would bring about in the future.

2. Historical Perspectives

2.1 Electroencephalography (EEG)

In 1875, Richard Caton reported his findings about the electrical nature of the brain, whereby the brains of dogs and apes were found to emit electrical impulses on the surface (Caton, 1875). In 1929, citing Caton’s research, Hans Berger was able to record brain activity from a closed skull using EEG and found that brain activity varied according to the functional stages of the brain (Tudor et al., 2005).

In 1934, Lowenback and Fisher demonstrated the existence of epileptiform spikes (Nielsen, 2009). In 1935 Davis, Gibbs and Lennox discovered interictal spike waves and the patterns of seizures, which began the field of clinical electroencephalography (Gibbs et al.,1935). The usefulness of EEG in understanding epilepsies increased the funding provided for EEG which bolstered further research in the area.

In the 1950s, William Grey Walter discovered a method, which is now known as EEG topography. It allowed researches to better map the electrical activity found on the brain. It gave researchers a more accurate view of the location of alterations of rhythm and amplitude of the brain waves. (Collura, 1993)

2.2 Brain Computer Interface

The first BCI was demonstrated by the same William Grey Walter in 1964. A patient was made to press a button to advance a slide projector while having electrodes connected to the motor area of his brain at the same time. It was shown that the slide was able to advance before the patient pressed the button (Dennett, 1993). This proved the possibility of creating a desired action in a device by thinking about it without actually having to carry out the action itself, which is what BCI is about.

Another major breakthrough was in 1969 where monkeys where shown to be able to successfully operate a biometer arm through their neural activity through the use of auditory and visual feedback coupled with positive reinforcement methods such as providing food (Fetz, 1969) This showed that electrical activity in the brain could be voluntarily modified which is the basis for the operation of BCIs.

In the 1980s, Apostolos Georgopoulos from Johns Hopkins University observed that the direction in which the test subject (rhesus macaque monkeys) moved their arms had a mathematical relationship with the resulting electrical activity occurring in their motor cortex neurons. He was also able to identify the groups of neurons in the monkey’s brain that was responsible for the control of motor commands (Georgopoulos et al, 1989). This gave greater insight to researchers on the required motor actions that were needed to be thought (such as to imagine clenching your left fist) in order to create the desired electrical activity.

Current situation

Research on BCIs in recent years has increased greatly. An example of the recognition that BCI have started to garner would be the BCI award (Bci-award.com, 2013). There are now at least 100 BCI research groups today compared to the past century as well as increased BCI related articles and talks as well as products, most notably being the Epoc neuroheadset, designed by Emotiv. This increase in research arises from several factors. The prices of required computer hardware needed for the operation of BCIs have dropped drastically over the past decade, and the ease of access to the software needed have been increased by new developments in information technology such as cloud computing. The advances in related medical fields such as neuroscience have also introduced new and improved methods of recording the electrical activity from the neurons.

The practical use of BCI in today’s context mainly centres on the use of invasive (implanting the BCI into the grey matter of the brain) and partially invasive (implanting the BCI within the skull but not in the brain) techniques. The non-invasive use of BCI which is made possible through the use of Electrocephalography although offers greater potential to be commercialised and commonly used, is a relatively new technology and most of the applications it has today merely offers potential for the future instead of for practical purposes.

3.1 Invasive and Partially-Invasive Brain-to-Computer Interface(BCI)

Despite the greater potential that the non-invasive usage of BCI offers for the future, at the moment the practical uses of BCI such as in the medical field relies on invasive methods of implanting the BCI devices into either the grey matter of the brain or partially invasive methods of implanting the devices within the skull but not in the brain itself. The use of such methods allows for clearer signals to be received and used, because although the electrodes in the BCIs measure the same signals used in EEG, the electrodes are now closer to the brain. In addition to this, signals no longer need to travel through the dura and the skull which have dampening effects on the signals. Thus the signals obtained in invasive BCIs have “greater signal amplitude, wider detectable frequency range, and better topographical resolution” (Mak and Wolpaw, 2009). More information can thus be transmitted to the BCI which allows for a greater number of movements and more complex tasks. Currently it has been used in the vision science area through partially restoring vision to blind people, and in neuroprosthetics by restoring movement in people such as through computers or robotic arms (wiseGEEK, 2013). The dangers posed by Invasive BCI methods such as the increased risk of developing scar tissues as the body’s immune system reacts to this new device in the brain (of foreign origin) which will cause the signal to weaken or become completely undetectable. Implantation surgery, and the presence of a foreign object within a human’s body, can create scar tissue in the area around the implantation. Scar tissue build-up can even cause the relatively stronger signal to weaken or be lost altogether (Kennedy and Bakay, 1998) which would defeat the purpose of using an invasive BCI in the first place. There is also the risk of the BCI implant malfunctioning or lose operational capabilities, in which case brain surgery might need to be performed again (which presents significant risk and cost in the use of invasive BCI’s) compared to non-invasive BCI’s used by patients which can undergo consistent maintenance and upgrades. Because of such disadvantages, development of BCIs have been primary non-invasive in areas such as the EU and Asia.

3.2 Non-Invasive Brain-to-Computer Interface (BCI)

The non-invasive type of BCI is made possible through the use of EEG whereby intracranial electrophysiological signals are recorded using electrodes and then interpreted by the device in order to decode the intent of subjects and the corresponding action be used to control external devices (Lebedev and Nicolelis, 2006). The successful use of this type of BCI has been demonstrated by a group of researchers in the University of Minnesota where a flying robot has been successfully controlled. The thoughts of the researcher controlling the robot were interpreted through the use of an EEG cap and using this, the robot was capable of being manoeuvred even through hoops (LaFleur et al.,2013). The ability to execute such relatively complex movements is a significant one because it was previously thought that only invasive BCI’s could do so.

The ability of non-invasive BCI to demonstrate capabilities similar to that of invasive BCIs is crucial due to the numerous problems posed by invasive BCIs. The need of implanting the device into the grey matter of the brain poses significant risks due to the need for brain operation, and as such invasive BCIs can only realistically be used as a solution for serious health issues such as blindness and paralysis.

Non-invasive BCIs have been successfully used in patients both partially or severely paralyzed, allowing them to have basic forms of communication and control in their interaction with the external world. The EPOC headset today is an example of the application of non-invasive BCI in today’s world, whereby it can be used as a form of art, aid medical patients, used as a form of market research and most importantly in the area with the biggest market, gaming.

3.3 Brain-to-Brain interface (BBI)

The field of BBI is still in its early stages whereby different methods of transmitting the data are being used in different studies. A technique known as focus ultrasound (FUS) has been found that a low-energy blast can be able to trigger activity in the tissues of the brain without any harmful effects. Using this technique, rats were able to be controlled with the human mind by connecting the rat to a FUS-based computer-to-brain interface (CBI) and the human controller is linked to an EEG-based BCI. The human is then given a specific visual cue which generates electrical brain activity of corresponding frequency to the aforementioned visual cue. The brain activity triggers the BCI to send a unique command to the CBI that deploys the ultrasound blast to the motor region of the rat’s brain (the area responsible in controlling the tail), which leads to the mouse moving its tail under the control of the researcher. (Starr, 2013)

Another more well-known experiment involved a researcher being able to transmit brain signals to his colleague via the internet causing his hand to move. The researcher attempting to “control” the subject with his brain signals was connected to a non-invasive BCI device and the signal was sent over through the internet to another computer which controlled a transcranial magnetic stimulation device. and the signal was sent to the receiver via the Internet to a computer connected to a transcranial magnetic stimulation device (which, if used on the motor cortex of the brain, can create muscle activity) placed on the precise area of the brain responsible for movement for the right hand. (Rao and Stocco, 2013)

3.4 Limitations that BCI technology is facing at the moment

A significant limitation of using non-invasive BCI & BBI by the use of electroencephalography (EEG) is the corruption of EEG data by electrical signals that are picked up by the sensors that are actually not coming from the cortical neurons, such as through eye movement, blinking, and the use of surrounding muscles and tissue as well as from insufficient contact between the electrodes and the scalp (Rowan andTolunsky,2003). This makes it impractical to use EEG based remote control in practical situations because rarely will there be such controlled environments to prevent the corruption of the electrical signals. The distortion of electrical signals by even the use of muscles makes it hard to be used while on-the-go, which defeats the purpose of convenience intended for the user. However there are ways to overcome this, by reducing such distractions and “noise” through the use of reference electrodes placed in locations where there is little cortical activity so as to filter out correlated patterns (Ludwig et al., 2009)

Another problem of EEG in the use of BCI is that much of the signals are lost due to overlapping electrical activity generated by different cortical areas as well as the passive conductance of these signals through braise tissue, bone and skin( Lebedev and Nicolelis,2006). As a result, the signal is insufficient for the control of highly complex equipment. For example in the case of a prosthetic arm, the signals necessary to control the arm , including the closed loop controls between the brain, arm and fingers, would be too blurred for the necessary arm movement (Dietrich et al., 2010)

Lastly, the use of EEG based BCI requires the individuals to be trained for a significant period of time. In research conducted by Bin he, the individuals were trained extensively over a couple of months to be familiar with the mechanics of flying the remote controlled droid as well as practicing the thoughts needed to create the brainwave required to control the droid. Similarly, in the BBI experiment by Rao and Stocco (2013), subjects had to spend time training their minds so as to emit the correct brainwave responsible for movement of the right-hand such that it could be recognised by the computer. This seems to be a rather pressing issue because people are not receptive to devices which require lots of effort to master when the current form of remote control is a more convenient alternative.

The testing and research that is needed to be done in the field of invasive BCIs require brain surgery and as such is limited to patients undergoing treatment to engage in studies on a voluntary basis, as well as lab animals such as monkeys and rats. The patients who would volunteer would normally be fixated positive aspects of the BCI technology and would not be fully aware regarding the side effects and complications that could arise. An example would be in the case of Johnny Ray who was a patient who “locked-in” after suffering a brain-stem stroke. After receiving the implant he was able to establish a certain level of communication through the use of computer devices such as being able to control a computer cursor. However, he died of brain aneurysm 4 years later (Kennedy & Bakay,1998)

Because of the complexity of the human brain compared to other animals, the use of less controversial animals (such as rats, mice, dogs and rabbits) would be less desirable compared to using Non-human primates because their brains share similar structural and functional features to our human brain. However, such experimentation is controversial because the similarity raises the possibility of the animals being able to have emotions and feelings comparable to what we feel (Nuffieldbioethics.org, 2013). As a result research conducted on Non-human primates has been the subject of many animal rights attacks and limits the progress in the field of invasive BCI.

4 Future considerations

The use of BCIs offer great potential, especially its non-invasive form due to the lesser constraints it faces in testing compared to invasive BCIs which would require operating on animals or get medical patients who are willing to volunteer. The ease of using noninvasive BCIs opens up many areas that it could influence, however we would have to have to be aware of the possible problems that could arise as a result of its possible widespread use in the future.

4.1 Possible Applications in the future

The use of EEG based remote control provides the opportunity for patients suffering from paralysis to operate equipment around them and interact with their surroundings through the use of telepresence robotics, enabling them a certain level of independence that they would otherwise not achieve. Combined with the ability to express their thoughts in a simple form (Morrison, 2013), this greatly improves the quality of life that these patients will enjoy.

In a study by Cruse et al (2011), a small percentage of patients known to be in a persistent vegetative state (PVS) were shown to be able to generate appropriate EEG responses in response to various commands. This presence of brain activity could offer the possibility of using the EEG based remote control which will allow these patients to lead a more normal life.

As mentioned before, the use the EEG based remote control reduces the time lag between thought and action. An example of where this would be useful would be for medical robots controlled by doctors to perform operations. Robots are being increasingly used for medical operations because they allow for smaller and more specific movements to be carried out and access to the areas of the body which are harder to reach (Urmc.rochester.edu, 2013).In this context, it is important that the actions carried out by the robot are as synchronised as possible to the surgeon’s intentions because a very low margin of error is allowed. This form of remote control makes humans to be more connected to machines, allowing for better reaction times reduce accidents from occurring. The potential to generate faster responses would also be an extremely useful asset in the field of competitive gaming.

The ability to control equipment without physically doing so offers convenience in scenarios by offering users another method of control. It also allows for greater multitasking, an example would be in warfare scenario whereby soldiers could be carrying weapons on both hands and the background noise makes audio communication impossible, the ability to communicate through the use of BCIs would be very useful. In scenarios where the user suddenly loses his physical capabilities such as in the case of traffic accidents or sudden health conditions like heart attacks, EEG based remote control provides the means for the victims to seek for methods of escape by still being able or communicate to others for help.

BBI, which makes brain-to-brain communication possible, offers a host of possibilities in the future. Animals, some who possess a small size capable of entering small nooks and crannies, and others with acute sensory mechanisms, could be used in search and rescue operations as well as environmental surveillance. As shown in the experiment Rao and Stocco (2013), BBI can be used to induce actions in the receiver. The ability to control movements of other people would be a useful educational tool especially for the teaching of complicated movements such as for skills like dancing, self-defence and sports manoeuvres. The role of internet in BBI also opens up the potential for physical interactions to occur through virtual networks which would be a new element of communication

BCI, combined with the capabilities of BBI through the internet, offers great potential in the gaming industry because it brings in an additional physical aspect in the world of virtual reality. Its relevance and potential for the gaming industry is significant because of the large amount of people it could reach out to, compared to the medical field, and thus the large market of the gaming industry will attract resources for further development of relevant technologies and developments in its medical applications would benefit as part of its spill over effects.

4.2 Ethical issues

With further developments in BCIs and BBIs, there will inevitably be concerns regarding ethics such as the invasion of privacy such as in cases where the patient does not have means of expressing consent due to various forms of communicative disorder. As a result, it is unclear if it would be ethical to either implant BCI’s or to subject them to non-invasive BCIs which would be tapping into their minds without prior consent, amounting to a breach of privacy.

The availability of medical BCI usages also creates new problems regarding the distribution of such medical devices. The technology of BCIs is relatively complex and requires certain qualifications and hence people in rural areas would be left out of the benefits. With healthcare being something that is supposed to be a public right in some countries, but yet with a limited number of BCIs, ethical issues may arise on the priority given to different types of patients; The patients requiring BCIs are mainly the disabled with varying degrees of paralysis, both which could be in-born or as a result of accidents.

The ability to control the minds of animals and use them as tools for human activities may also outrage animal rights activists and face public condemnation, despite the many benefits it may confer. Brain-to-brain communication might also give rise to the possibility of mind control without consent, such as in the case where researchers were able to control the actions of the rat.

4.3 Social Issues

The high cost of EEG related technology means it would not be accessible to the poor. With regards to the medical benefits that could be derived, funds channelled into its research could arguably do more good in being used to address the basic needs and concerns of the common man instead of providing specialised healthcare that only the rich could afford.

Should non-invasive forms of EEG become popular in the future, its popularity might compel the government to make it compulsory for everyone for administrative purposes due to the convenience it brings for everyone to be under the same health plan, even though some people may actually be opposed to it.

The usage of non-invasive BCIs in the gaming industry, although poses many benefits such as offering gamers a whole new experience, can pose significant threats. The proliferation of BCIs may gradually lead to getting information from the internet itself (instead of only sending information) which would definitely lead to new kinds of internet viruses that may have disastrous consequences given that they can “hack” into a person’s brain, not just his computer. The potential for such activity to occur is shown through studies which show that the brain activity can be influenced by external sources, such as the internet. In other words transference of information can be two-way as displayed by the experiment of Rao & Stocco (2013). This could mean that should the use of BCIs be mainstream, large amounts of people could be “brainwashed” by a virus transferred by BCI which will lead the to birth of new elements of cybercrime and terrorism.

4.4 Issues relating to privacy

Present studies have also discovered the possibility of obtaining the private information of its users through the use of a cheap BCI gaming device (Martinovic et al.,2012). Although such extraction of information could be potentially useful in webpages and search devices to greater understand the user’s needs, this would amount to an invasion of privacy.

The issue of privacy has been raised in recent years in response to counter terrorism measures such as x-ray scanning in the airports. Despite complaints that their privacy was breached, full-body scanners are used in the airports of many countries (Crislip, 2013). Similar disputes are likely to arise when BCIs could introduce an additional layer of detection but again at the expense of revealing personal information of the travellers. Privacy would again most likely be compromised for the purpose of security. This could raise the question of the legal liabilities of an intention to commit a crime, even though the action has not been committed.

4.5 Legal Issues

Despite the convenience that non-invasive BCIs offer, invasive BCIs have an advantage of being used in secret. BCIs have been shown to be capable of enhancing motor capabilities and brain performance in healthy individuals (Warwick, (2011). Controversy would arise in the area of competitive sports because this would constitute to artificial enhancement.

Conclusion

There has been much recent developments and interest in the field of BCIs which would continue into the future. The realm of non-invasive BCIs offers significant advantages as its ease of use offers the potential for it to be applied not just in the medical field, but in areas for the common man such as communication, gaming, as well as possible social applications. Hence in my opinion non-invasive BCIs will become a revolution in the future. However, it also presents to us many new problems should it become a reality. Issues of mind control become an actual reality which we could face decades later, and we may need to ask the question whether BCI, with the risk that it offers, should be commercialised and be used for recreation or for the sake of convenience instead of the main medical usages currently.

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[1] This paper was reviewed by Grace Tay and Tan Ho Yee.

Joseph Tam - Technology & World Change blog.

Wednesday, 13 November 2013

TWC Lesson 12, 11/11/2013

TWC Lesson 11, 4/11/2013

Individual Review Paper - Telekinesis, made possible by BCIs