Brain-Computer Interfaces

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Until recently, our relationship with technology has been limited to physical and direct command. To get a device to take action, you must touch it, or speak to it. All of this could change with this new technology called, brain-computer interfaces. This amazing technology will not only revamp military applications, but most importantly help the medical community substantially. It brings the possibility of sound to the deaf, sight to the blind and movement to the physically challenged. However, with all great ideas there is a downside, there are many technical and ethical issues that people are not willing to risk.

A brain-computer interface, also known as a BCI, is technology that allows a device to respond neural signals from the brain and turn them into actions controlled by a subject (Kotchetkov 1). The device they use to achieve this is called an electroencephalograph, also referred to as EEG. They are two ways of using this device, invasive and non-invasive. The invasive method requires for the device to be implanted directly into the brain, while the non-invasive method only consists of placing the device on the surface of the scalp. The only reason why any of this technology exists is because of how our brain works. "Our brains are filled with neurons, individual nerve cells connected to one another by dendrites and axons.

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Every time we think, move, feel or remember something, our neurons are at work"

(Grabianowski 1).

Brain-computer interfaces provide a wide array of possibilities for people with physical disabilities. This could change the lives of thousands, think of all the people suffering from illnesses or complications such as paralysis, locked in syndrome, stroke or severe brain trauma. B...

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...rosthetic Hand”. University of Chicago Medical Center, Oct. 14, 2013. sciencedaily.com. April 6, 2014.

Castillo, Michelle. “Quadriplegic Woman Uses Brain to Drink Coffee with Help from Robotic Arm”. CBS News, May 16, 2012. cbsnew.com. April 6, 2014

Grabianowski, Ed. “How Brain-Computer Interface Work”. How Stuff Works .Inc, Nov. 2, 2007. howstuffworks.com. Mar. 31, 2014

Kacapyr, Vasyl. “Brain Signals More Paralyzed Limbs in New Experiment”. Cornell University, Feb. 19, 2014. sciencedaily.com. April 6, 2014

Kotchetkov, Ivan. Hwang, Brian. Appelboom, Geoffrey. Kellner, Christopher. Connoly, Sander Jr. “Brain-Computer Interfaces: Military, Neurosurgical, & Ethical Perspective”. American Association of Neurological Surgeons, 2010. medscape.com. April 6, 2014

Wilson, L. Richard. “Ethical Issue of Brain Computer Interfaces (BCI)”. N.p. n.d. iacap.org. April 6, 2014

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