CEREBRAL CO
RTEX
Wand positioned close to (but not touching) patient’s skull
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THE BRAIN OF THE FUTURE
The Expanded Brain 190 191
Transcranial magnetic stimulation
In transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), pulses of electric current pass through a coil and generate magnetism that penetrates the skull to influence brain cells and their impulses. The coil’s position and motion, and pulse strength and timing, are adjusted to modify particular brain regions.
TMS is being tried for many kinds of brain and behavioral conditions and also possibly to heighten thinking and other mental processes.
Memory chips
The abilities of electronic devices can be extended by adding more memory, often in the form of microchips.
The brain could be similarly upgraded. Microdevices to receive, store, and send data are being shaped like ultrafine webs, chains, and grains. Implanted on or in the cerebral cortex, they could develop connections with individual nerve cells and assist them in thinking and memory. Already, chips can advance hippocampus memory tasks such as long-term recall.
Stimulating the brain Anodal tDCS uses a positive current to speed up nerve cell activity. The positions of the skin electrodes determine which brain regions are aroused. Tests show that effects can persist even after the current ceases.
Positively charged electrode can stimulate neural activity in brain
Embedded microprocessor and memory chips
Constant electrical current supplied from battery Wire coil
enclosed in plastic case
Activated neurons
Skin patch for wireless power and monitoring
Implanted neural grains, webs, or chains Radio waves
provide power
Neurograins on cortex surface form connections with neurons
Area of brain being stimulated
Magnetic field Resting neurons
Anode
INSIDE THE CORTEX
ARTIFICIAL HIPPOCAMPUS
NEUROGRAIN NETWORK
Magnetic pulse
When in use, the magnetic coils change polarity and produce magnetic pulses, which penetrate the scalp.
This produces electrical activity in surrounding neurons.
Neurograins
Scientists are developing a technique in which tens of thousands of “neurograins”
each independently interface with a single neuron and send data to an electronic patch on the scalp.
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THE BRAIN OF THE FUTURE The Global Brain
The Global Brain
Public use of the World Wide Web dates from 1991. Now, the development of a system that may allow our brains to interface with the Cloud is a possibility.
Brain/Cloud interface
Technology is racing to connect human brains into the gigantic electronic network of the Cloud using a brain/Cloud interface (B/CI).
A person may eventually be able to access a vast bank of human and electronic knowledge, but many challenges must be overcome. For example, the speed of data transfer must be controlled, or incoming information could be so excessive that it totally overloads our consciousness. And from the start, fully safeguarding each human brain is essential.
Design challenges
Attempting to design a B/CI involves many key elements: a connection to the human brain itself, a method of wirelessly transmitting the brain’s neural activity into a local computer network, and establishing how this network interacts with the Cloud.
Communicating with the Cloud Computers and smart devices, which can connect with each other and with the internet, communicate with the Cloud.
The number of smart devices linked to the internet is now more than double the number of people in the world. If human brains are also able to join the Cloud, it will become an even busier place.
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The Cloud
The Cloud includes giant databases, server farms, megaprocessors, and supercomputers. These work together in real time to receive, store, manage, and send information to millions of individual computers and other devices linked to them.
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WHAT IS THE CLOUD?
The Cloud is an immense, worldwide, interwoven network of major electronic
equipment. Through it, software and services can run on the internet instead
of on your computer.
The use of personal computers may fade as personal brain/Cloud interfaces take over
“Farms” containing racks of servers are bigger than many towns
DATA CENTER
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Neural implants
Several technologies are competing to enable early forms of B/CIs. They include neural lace, various types of nanobots, and subnanosize particles known as neural dust. Neural dust would allow wireless communication to the brain through microscopic implantable devices inside the body, which are powered by ultrasound.
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Implants may link brain regions as well as to the interface
NEURO BOTS
NEURA L LACE
Cortical intraweb Neural lace is an ultrafine mesh of electrodes that forms a data-collecting
and dispersing area. It also works as a wireless antenna.
Cerebral nanobots
Neurobots implanted in the cerebral cortex, or traveling through its blood vessels with the
help of their own micro-positioning guides, act as go-between
transmitter-receivers.
Retractable arms work as aerials
Implanted lace unfolds Scalp skin
Cerebral cortex
Deciding which human brains should join the Cloud raises many social and economic issues.
Future applications may include facilitating the accuracy of medical diagnoses. But the question of who will be able to use the technology first will have to be considered. Will it be those who need it, those who can best develop it, or those who can pay for it?