The human brain is the most complex structure of its kind. Neuroscience researchers are making progress in understanding the brain, even though science doesn't fully understand it.
The brain has 85 billion or so neurons and 100 trillion connections. There are upwards of 400 billion stars in the Milky Way.
Neuralink is a Silicon Valley start-up backed by Musk that has developed a brain-computer interface. Musk claims that the chip could cure tinnitus within five years. Is this possible?
Elon: Neuralink will definitely cure tinnitus. Future devices will include 10,000-100,000+ electrodes https://t.co/jnIife7GT6
— Neura Pod (Neuralink Updates) (@NeuraPod) April 24, 2022
The Neuralink device is placed in the skull by a surgical robot. The Link is connected to a thousand miniature threads by a robot. A quarter of a human hair is the diameter of a thread.
The device can be used to communicate with an external computer.
In the future, Neuralink could be used to help people with neurological disorders where the brain and the nerves don't work together. There are people with Parkinson's disease and paraplegia.
Neuralink has been recruiting top-class neuroscientists from academia and the broader research community to develop the technology to treat these conditions.
The proof-of-concept video was released in April 2021. A nine-year-old macaque monkey named Pager was shown playing a game of pong with his mind by having an implanted Neuralink device connected to a computer.
Pager the monkey was playing a game. There is a picture on the website, picabay.com.
Pager was shown how to play a game. He would get a sip of the smoothie when he made a correct move.
The Neuralink implant recorded electrical activity in his brain as he played. This showed which neurons controlled which movements.
Pager was able to play the game and win using only his mind.
If the FDA approves the Neuralink prototype, human trials are expected to start at the end of 2022.
Neuralink's monkey can play Pong with its mind. Imagine what humans could do with the same technology https://t.co/6C6EJU3H5x via @ConversationEDU
— David Tuffley (@DavidTuffley) April 14, 2021
The Neuralink device could cure tinnitus by the year 2027 according to Musk.
Tinnitus is a neurological condition that causes a ringing or buzzing in the ears.
Tinnitus occurs when the vestibulocochlear nerve, which connects the inner ear to the brain, is damaged due to loud noise, injury, or lack of blood supply.
A cure for tinnitus is hard to find. masking the sound or ignoring it is the current treatment.
The cerebral cortex is the surface layer of the brain. This is where the device can help the brain repair damage from motor sensory input or output.
These claims could appear grandiose. The underlying science is not controversial.
The first cochlear implant was placed in a person with impaired hearing. In the 60 years since then, there has been a lot of progress.
The device has the potential to treat deafness. Deep brain stimulation can be used to treat conditions such as obsessive compulsive disorder, brain injuries, and diseases of the nervous system.
Paul Nuyujukian is the director of the Brain Interfacing Laboratory.
We are on the cusp of a complete paradigm shift. This type of technology has the potential to transform our treatments. Not just for stroke, paralysis, and motor degenerative disease, but also for pretty much every other type of brain disease.
Neuralink is a class III medical device. Neuralink needs to clear the FDA regulatory controls before human trials begin.
To be approved, the company needs to provide clinical trial data from non-human test subjects to justify moving to the next phase. Critics have raised animal welfare concerns after some monkeys died during Neuralink's tests.
The approval process for human testing could take a while.
The regulators will be looking for the negative consequences of the device. How practical it is to remove or repair a device should it malfunction and how to manage the risk of brain injury will be of interest.
Neuralink will use human volunteers once the FDA approves it.
How long it will take until the device is commercially available and how much it will cost is not known. It's out of reach for all but the wealthy because of the price tag.
It is wise to not hold out hope for an affordable implant in the short term.
David Tuffley is a senior lecturer at the university.
This article is free to use under a Creative Commons license. The original article is worth a read.
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