Neuralink

In 2016, billionaire Elon Musk founded Neuralink- an exclusive neurotechnological company which has around only 100 employees. Sorry to break it to you Wolf of Wall street folk but you can’t buy stocks from this company- yet. I only discovered Neuralink this year when a co-worker mentioned it to me, so I’m going to attempt to explain the vision of Neuralink and help you understand the brain itself a bit better.

The brain is hard-wired with connections, similar to electrical wiring. These connections are through neurons, these neural circuits in the brain are responsible for cognitive functions. Similar to fingerprints, no two individuals have the same brain anatomy and our wiring differs. There are 86,000,0000,000 neurons in your brain. That’s nearly as many stars in our galaxy (at 100 billion neurons). These neurons communicate with each other through synaptic connections. Through the highly co-ordinated activity of voltage-gates Na+ and K+ channels, action potentials release neurotransmitters. Signals are relayed through a series of nuclei in a neuronal network.

The cerebrum is divided into different lobes; the temporal, occipital, frontal, motor, parietal and sensory cortex. I won’t mansplain what each lobe is responsible for, but I will include a diagram on their associated functions. However, it is key to remember that no lobe is associated with just one function and vice versa. These excitatory postsynaptic potential (EPSP) can be recorded in experiments through injecting current into the cell. Mapping the brain makes it possible to decode brain activity. When you are understanding language for instance, your temporal lobe is active- neural connections are firing and this would show up in an EEG recording.

Neuralink want to surgically implant micron-scale threads in the skull, with the wires embedded slightly into the surface of the brain. The target lobe for this procedure is the motor cortex- the part of our brain that controls movement. The level of precision needed will be fulfilled through automated neurosurgery where a robotic system will be used as human hands are too unsteady. “The LINK is a sealed, implanted device that processes, stimulates and transmits neural signals. The neural threads: each small and flexible thread contains many electrodes for detecting neural signals. The charger: compact inductive charger wirelessly connects to the implant to charge the battery from the outside.”

Neuralink is aiming to develop a brain machine interface (BMI) system. These BMI/BCI systems enable communication between a digital device to the brain. Essentially, Musk wants us to control technology with our brain. This may sound like new dystopian technology, but other BMI devices already exist. These devices are used for deep brain stimulation which helps treat patients suffering from Parkinson’s disease. Other BMI devices are used to detect seizures. So, what’s the difference between these systems and Neuralink? Simply put, Neuralink has a lot more electrodes (1024 channels of information). Whereas the approved devices used currently have less than 10. The data received from each of the 1024 the electrodes will be collected in real time and sent wirelessly to a computer or mobile device, where it will be interpreted.

I briefly mentioned the use of BMI systems for DBS, which is the main type of surgery to treat Parkinson’s. The stimulation alters some of the electrical activity in the brain which eases up the motor symptoms. This is one application of BMI systems. Neuralink claims that their initial goal is “to help people with paralysis to regain independence”. The Link would allow them to have full control over their mobile devices and computers. They can send their texts, search things up, use apps through their brain activity. As their technology develops, they strive to cover more of the brain’s areas and increase the channels. These channels record neuron activity, process it in real time and send the information to the Link. Severe spinal cord injury patients will be able to control their computers and mobile devices directly with their brain. When you think about moving your hand, your brain lights up with activity as you have intentions to move. Neuralink is using that intentional flashing of activity in the brain, decoding it, and then sending it over to the user’s computer. They believe that eventually users of Neuralink will be able to control the virtual mouse, then other devices such as a game controller or keyboard.

Neuralink is still new, and clinical trials have not started yet. Therefore, the safety of the link implant is still unknown. Much like any surgery, the risk of inserting a device into the brain carries risk itself. Neuralink is integrating security in the device, with cryptography and defensive engineering. For the time being, Neuralink is invested in designing medical devices to help those with neurological disorders. However, they have not eliminated the possibility of making the link available to healthy people in the years to come. Musk has received a lot of backlash; many believe that this is the “Mark of the beast” and that biohacking will be made possible. Neuralink will be the beginning of life changing technology, technology that can treat a wide array of neurological disorders, restore function and magnify how humans interact with each other and with ourselves. Maybe paralysed artists will be able to draw again in apps, paralysed mathematicians can carry on with their work and change the world, the possibilities are endless. I believe this is exactly what science is meant to do, to help people, to make people uncomfortable and to push boundaries.

- sham