11-06-2015, 04:19 PM
Definition
Brain Implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subject's brain - usually placed on the surface of the brain , or attached to the brain 's cortex . A common purpose of modern brain implants and the focus of much current research is establishing a biomedical prosthesis circumventing areas in the brain, which became dysfunctional after a stroke or other head injuries . This includes sensory substitution , e.g. in vision . Brain implants involve creating interfaces between neural systems and computer chips , popularly called brain-machine interfaces .
Some futurologists , such as Raymond Kurzweil , see brain implants as part of a next step for humans in progress and evolution , whereas others, especially bioconservatives , view them as unnatural , with humankind losing essential human qualities. It is argued that implants would technically change people into cybernetic organisms ( cyborgs ). Some people fear implants may be used for mind control , e.g. to change human perception of reality
Brain implants in fiction and philosophy
In Hilary Putnam 's argument of the brain in a vat , he argues that brains, being directly fed with an input from a computer (instead of reality ), would have no chance of detecting the deception. The popular 1999 film The Matrix , and its sequels, The Matrix Reloaded and The Matrix Revolutions , both in 2003, have expanded upon this argument, positing a world where machines have conquered humanity and placed the bodies in arrays to use for power, and are keeping them alive by immersing their minds in a computer -based constructed reality.
The neurotrophic electrode is implanted into the motor cortex of the brain using a tiny glass encasing. Neurotrophic growth factors are implanted into the glass, and the cortical cells grow into the electrode and form contacts. It takes several weeks for the cortical tissue to grow into the electrode. The neurons in the brain transmit an electronic signal when they "fire." Recording wires are placed inside the glass cone to pick up the neural signals from the ingrown brain tissue and transmit them through the skin to a receiver and amplifier outside of the scalp.