Mind Reading and Writing: The Future of Neurotechnology. Issue 7 (July 2018) - Roelfsema, Pieter R.
Abstract : Recent advances in neuroscience and technology have made it possible to record from large assemblies of neurons and to decode their activity to extract information. At the same time, available methods to stimulate the brain and influence ongoing processing are also rapidly expanding. These developments pave the way for advanced neurotechnological applications that directly read from, and write to, the human brain. While such technologies are still primarily used in restricted therapeutic contexts, this may change in the future once their performance has improved and they become more widely applicable. Here, we provide an overview of methods to interface with the brain, speculate about potential applications, and discuss important issues associated with a neurotechnologically assisted future. Highlights: Advanced methods to record brain activity make it increasingly possible to access an individual's mental processes (i.e., to 'read their mind'). The information that is directly extracted from the brain can be used to control devices, artificial limbs, or obtain knowledge of (hidden) intentions. Methods to stimulate the brain with electrical currents, optogenetics, and other methods are routinely used to probe causal relations in the brain and to restore dysfunctional neural circuits. These methods can also be used to 'write to the mind' (i.e., to feed information directly into the brain). Neurotechnologies to read from, and write to, the brain might be combined in a single individual to create 'augmented cognition' with increased processing capacity and an enhanced cognitive repertoire. This potential methodology also raises some important ethical questions.