Cyborgs, Brain Highways, and Memory Erasure: The Future of Neuroscience

How will our future look like? Imagine how amazing it would be to move things around, or turn on lights only with our minds. Or if we could download our memories on a disk and retrieve them later! Sounds like something out of ancient sci-fi movies, right? But these things might not be that far from reality!

In the last few decades, neuroscience has made considerable strides in unraveling the mysteries of the human brain. With advances in the field of genetics and physics, such as human genome sequencing, optogenetics, and high resolution microscopy, scientists can now manipulate specific areas within the brain and see how they affect behavior. Large-scale projects have been initiated such as the US BRAIN initiative, bringing together scientists from all over the world with the aim of developing next-generation tools to explore how neural connections lead to thoughts, emotions or movements. Here’s a list of ongoing projects which could profoundly improve our understanding of the brain:

Connectomics
Mapping the whole human brain will be one of the biggest scientific challenges of the 21^st century. The Connectome project was launched in 2005 with the aim of determining a comprehensive map of each individual neuronal connection of the 300 million neurons in a mouse brain - or what is referred to as the ‘wiring diagram’- and ultimately map the 10 billion connections in the human brain. In the years to come, the circuitry of the whole brain will be known, and this can help us to answer how brain circuitry changes during development, aging, disease or with experience. Maybe one day we could leave behind our connectome with our memories and experiences [1]!

Blue Brain Project
Another ambitious project, The Blue Brain project, was initiated in 2005 with the goal of simulating the whole human brain. Scientists at EPFL, Switzerland, have already made progress in modeling micro columns of the mouse brain to answer how a network of neurons processes sensory information. The computer model uses an overwhelming amount of information on the type of neurons, their electrical properties, shapes and connectivity to simulate thousands of neurons, allowing scientists to understand how the brain processes information and how brain waves are generated [2].

Source: Grau et al., PLoS ONE, 2014

Brain-Machine Interface
Many of us might remember the kick-start of the football world cup in Brazil by a paraplegic man using a mind-controlled prosthetic leg. This was made possible because of advances in Brain-Machine interface (BMI) technology by scientists at Duke University. BMI technology provides a direct electronic interface and can convey messages and commands directly from the human brain to a computer. The electrical activity of the conscious brain is monitored using electroencephalogram (EEG) signals, with detected patterns being digitalised and sent to a computer, or in the case of neuroprosthetics, to the control unit of a robotic arm or leg. Scientists have made progress in developing neuroprosthetics for paralyzed patients, enabling them to grasp things, even with up to six degrees of freedom [3]. So there is certainly hope ahead for paralyzed patients to walk, and to perform day-to-day activities.



Deep Brain Stimulation

Since 1987, Deep brain stimulation (DBS) has become the widely recommended treatment option for movement and neuropsychiatric disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, chronic pain, major depression and obsessive compulsive disorders. DBS involves the implantation of a medical device called a neurostimulator, which sends electrical impulses through implanted electrodes, to specific targets in the brain. This treatment has been proven effective in some patients but it also causes some neuropsychiatric side effects such as hallucinations, euphoria, cognitive dysfunction or depression. Clinical and technological advances in DBS need to be evolved in order to offer better quality of life for patients with debilitating disorders in the years to come [4].

Future possibilities
The future of neuroscience looks exciting and promising [5]. A few years ago, scientists at MIT successfully implanted false memories in mice by just reactivating the cell assembly for the memory of foot shocks [6]. The prospect of erasing bad memories or implanting memories in cases of post traumatic stress disorders represents an exciting possibility for humans. Recently, scientists managed to transmit a message into the mind of a colleague 5,000 miles away using brain waves [7]. Maybe there comes a day in future where we can telepathically send emails!
We have only reached the tip of the iceberg of unlocking the clockwork of the brain. This is evident from the fact that we have not yet been able to fully understand the simple 302 neuron- circuitry of C. elegans. Fundamental questions such as how we perceive with our senses, how we navigate through the world or bigger questions such as how do our thought processes work or what makes us conscious beings have been unanswered. The sheer complexity of the human brain will keep the neuroscientists around the world busy for the next decades for sure.

1. braininitiative.nih.gov
2. École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne
3. Collinger et al., Lancet, 2013
4. ninds.nih.gov
5. Wall Street Journal
6. Ramirez et al., Science, 2012
7. dailymail.co.uk

by Aarti Swaminathan, PhD Student AG Schmitz