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Human Brain Could Be Capable of 'Downloading,' Research Suggests

by Lee Bains on October 28, 2008 at 08:32 AM



In this month's issue of Scientific American, writer Gary Stix reports that recent bio-tech developments could lead to 'Matrix'-style technologies that would allow the human brain to interact with information and robotics just as a computer would interact with a keyboard and flash drive.

Among these developments is Niel Birbaumer's research at Germany's University of Tubingen which suggests that, by magnetically stimulating the cortex and then mapping neuron activity, experts could activate particular memories in a subject (a potential boon for those with Alzheimer's). In addition, researchers at U.S.C. and Wake Forest are developing an artificial hippocampus that could, theoretically, one day enable Alzheimer's patients to create new memories. And while neuroscientists have already engineered prosthetics that are controlled by brain signals, research indicates that soon those prostheses may be able to send signals back to the brain. Not only would you be able to reach out and pet a kitten with your prosthetic hand, but you would also be able to actually feel the softness of its fur.

While researchers have already introduced bionic eyes and hands, and neural implants capable of learning, these more recent developments are particularly intriguing. It could very well be that, in the coming decades, more and more people -- particularly those who have lost brain or limb function -- could come to integrate machines into their bodies and into their very psyches. Let's just hope they don't speak with an Austrian accent and have an obsession with somebody named "John Connor." [From: Scientific American]

Tags: biology, brain, future tech, FutureTech, health, medicine, science

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