scholarly journals Brain-Machine Interfaces: Powerful Tools for Clinical Treatment and Neuroscientific Investigations

2018 ◽  
Vol 25 (2) ◽  
pp. 139-154 ◽  
Author(s):  
Marc W. Slutzky

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) have exploded in popularity in the past decade. BMIs, also called brain-computer interfaces, provide a direct link between the brain and a computer, usually to control an external device. BMIs have a wide array of potential clinical applications, ranging from restoring communication to people unable to speak due to amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or a stroke, to restoring movement to people with paralysis from spinal cord injury or motor neuron disease, to restoring memory to people with cognitive impairment. Because BMIs are controlled directly by the activity of prespecified neurons or cortical areas, they also provide a powerful paradigm with which to investigate fundamental questions about brain physiology, including neuronal behavior, learning, and the role of oscillations. This article reviews the clinical and neuroscientific applications of BMIs, with a primary focus on motor BMIs.

Author(s):  
Ishita Singh ◽  
Adwin Manhar

Brain-computer interface (BCI) is the technology act as a interface between the brain and an external device. It converts the signals emitted by the CNS of the brain to artificial output to be understood by the computer. This technology will be most useful to the severely disabled individual or people suffering from amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, brainstem stroke, or any spinal cord injury and thus are impaired of tier ability to communicate and physical functioning. With the fast-paced development and interest of various top-notch companies in this arena due to its positive future Efforts have begun recently to provide safe and secure BCI systems to severely disabled individuals to make their lives easier. In this paper, we will know about BCI , its basic functioning. We will also discuss its clinical application, p300 speller, and its potential for future. Lastly expectation from the future.


Author(s):  
Sascha R. A. Alles ◽  
Anne-Marie Malfait ◽  
Richard J. Miller

Pain is not a simple phenomenon and, beyond its conscious perception, involves circuitry that allows the brain to provide an affective context for nociception, which can influence mood and memory. In the past decade, neurobiological techniques have been developed that allow investigators to elucidate the importance of particular groups of neurons in different aspects of the pain response, something that may have important translational implications for the development of novel therapies. Chemo- and optogenetics represent two of the most important technical advances of recent times for gaining understanding of physiological circuitry underlying complex behaviors. The use of these techniques for teasing out the role of neurons and glia in nociceptive pathways is a rapidly growing area of research. The major findings of studies focused on understanding circuitry involved in different aspects of nociception and pain are highlighted in this article. In addition, attention is drawn to the possibility of modification of chemo- and optogenetic techniques for use as potential therapies for treatment of chronic pain disorders in human patients.


2021 ◽  
Vol 10 (11) ◽  
pp. 2358
Author(s):  
Maria Grazia Giovannini ◽  
Daniele Lana ◽  
Chiara Traini ◽  
Maria Giuliana Vannucchi

The microbiota–gut system can be thought of as a single unit that interacts with the brain via the “two-way” microbiota–gut–brain axis. Through this axis, a constant interplay mediated by the several products originating from the microbiota guarantees the physiological development and shaping of the gut and the brain. In the present review will be described the modalities through which the microbiota and gut control each other, and the main microbiota products conditioning both local and brain homeostasis. Much evidence has accumulated over the past decade in favor of a significant association between dysbiosis, neuroinflammation and neurodegeneration. Presently, the pathogenetic mechanisms triggered by molecules produced by the altered microbiota, also responsible for the onset and evolution of Alzheimer disease, will be described. Our attention will be focused on the role of astrocytes and microglia. Numerous studies have progressively demonstrated how these glial cells are important to ensure an adequate environment for neuronal activity in healthy conditions. Furthermore, it is becoming evident how both cell types can mediate the onset of neuroinflammation and lead to neurodegeneration when subjected to pathological stimuli. Based on this information, the role of the major microbiota products in shifting the activation profiles of astrocytes and microglia from a healthy to a diseased state will be discussed, focusing on Alzheimer disease pathogenesis.


2020 ◽  
Vol 49 (1) ◽  
pp. E2 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kai J. Miller ◽  
Dora Hermes ◽  
Nathan P. Staff

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) provide a way for the brain to interface directly with a computer. Many different brain signals can be used to control a device, varying in ease of recording, reliability, stability, temporal and spatial resolution, and noise. Electrocorticography (ECoG) electrodes provide a highly reliable signal from the human brain surface, and these signals have been used to decode movements, vision, and speech. ECoG-based BCIs are being developed to provide increased options for treatment and assistive devices for patients who have functional limitations. Decoding ECoG signals in real time provides direct feedback to the patient and can be used to control a cursor on a computer or an exoskeleton. In this review, the authors describe the current state of ECoG-based BCIs that are approaching clinical viability for restoring lost communication and motor function in patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or tetraplegia. These studies provide a proof of principle and the possibility that ECoG-based BCI technology may also be useful in the future for assisting in the cortical rehabilitation of patients who have suffered a stroke.


2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jared S. Katzeff ◽  
Woojin Scott Kim

Abstract ATP-binding cassette (ABC) transporters are one of the largest groups of transporter families in humans. ABC transporters mediate the translocation of a diverse range of substrates across cellular membranes, including amino acids, nucleosides, lipids, sugars and xenobiotics. Neurodegenerative diseases are a group of brain diseases that detrimentally affect neurons and other brain cells and are usually associated with deposits of pathogenic proteins in the brain. Major neurodegenerative diseases include Alzheimer’s disease, Parkinson’s disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. ABC transporters are highly expressed in the brain and have been implicated in a number of pathological processes underlying neurodegenerative diseases. This review outlines the current understanding of the role of ABC transporters in neurodegenerative diseases, focusing on some of the most important pathways, and also suggests future directions for research in this field.


Author(s):  
Ellen M. McGee

Transformations of humans through advances in bioelectronics, nanotechnologies, and computer science are leading to hybrids of humans and machines. Future brain-machine interfaces will enable humans not only to be constantly linked to the Internet, and to cyber think, but will also enable technology to take information directly from the brain. Brain-computer interfaces, where a chip is implanted in the brain, will facilitate a tremendous augmentation of human capacities, including the radical enhancement of the human ability to remember and to reason, and to achieve immortality through cloning and brain downloading, or existence in virtual reality. The ethical and legal issues raised by these possibilities represent global challenges. The most pressing concerns are those raised by privacy and autonomy. The potential exists for control of persons, through global tracking, by actually “seeing” and “hearing” what the individual is experiencing, and by controlling and directing an individual’s thoughts, emotions, moods, and motivations. Public dialogue must be initiated. New principles, agencies, and regulations need to be formulated and scientific organizations, states, countries, and the United Nations must all be involved.


2022 ◽  
pp. 65-85
Author(s):  
Mohammad Mudassir Ahmad ◽  
Kiran Ahuja

The electroencephalogram is used in brain-computer interface (BCI) in which signal from the human brain is sensed with the help of EEG and then sent to the computer to control the external device without having any touch of muscular body parts. On the other hand, the brain chip interfacing (BCHIs) is a microelectronic chip that has physical connections with the neurons for the transfer of information. The BCI needs a reliable, high-speed network and new security tool that can assist BCI technology. 5G network and blockchain technology is ideal to support the growing needs of brain chip interfacing. Further, the Cloudmind, which is an emerging application of BCI, can be conceptualized by using blockchain technology. In this chapter, brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are expedient to bridge the connectivity chasm between human and machine (computer) systems via 5G technologies, which offers minimal latency, faster speeds, and stronger bandwidth connectivity with strong cryptographic qualities of blockchain technologies.


2013 ◽  
Vol 2013 ◽  
pp. 1-11 ◽  
Author(s):  
Julianne Aebischer ◽  
Nathalie Bernard-Marissal ◽  
Brigitte Pettmann ◽  
Cédric Raoul

While studies on death receptors have long been restricted to immune cells, the last decade has provided a strong body of evidence for their implication in neuronal death and hence neurodegenerative disorders such as amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS). ALS is a fatal paralytic disorder that primarily affects motoneurons in the brain and spinal cord. A neuroinflammatory process, associated with astrocyte and microglial activation as well as infiltration of immune cells, accompanies motoneuron degeneration and supports the contribution of non-cell-autonomous mechanisms in the disease. Hallmarks of Fas, TNFR, LT-βR, and p75NTR signaling have been observed in both animal models and ALS patients. This review summarizes to date knowledge of the role of death receptors in ALS and the link existing between the selective loss of motoneurons and neuroinflammation. It further suggests how this recent evidence could be included in an ultimate multiapproach to treat patients.


1999 ◽  
Vol 54 (12) ◽  
pp. 1107-1114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yuzo Nishida ◽  
Satoshi Nishino

Many hypotheses have been developed to explain aging and age-related neurodegenerative disorders; one of the most compelling is the role of oxidative stress to induce changes in protease activity in brains of patients of Alzheimer’s disease and prion disease. At the moment however, there is no clear answer how protein degradation may be achieved in the brain. We have observed that several metal compounds can degrade proteins in the presence of hydrogen peroxide, and elucidated the reaction scheme based on the new theoretical point for the reactivity of a metal-peroxide adduct with η1-coordination mode. In this article we would like to point out the importance of a copper(II)-peroxide adduct to promote neurodegenerative diseases such as prion disease and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis through its oxidative protease function.


Hypertension ◽  
2020 ◽  
Vol 76 (3) ◽  
pp. 622-628
Author(s):  
Daniela Carnevale

The nervous system and the immune system share the common ability to exert gatekeeper roles at the interfaces between internal and external environment. Although interaction between these 2 evolutionarily highly conserved systems has been recognized for long time, the investigation into the pathophysiological mechanisms underlying their crosstalk has been tackled only in recent decades. Recent work of the past years elucidated how the autonomic nervous system controls the splenic immunity recruited by hypertensive challenges. This review will focus on the neural mechanisms regulating the immune response and the role of this neuroimmune crosstalk in hypertension. In this context, the review highlights the components of the brain-spleen axis with a focus on the neuroimmune interface established in the spleen, where neural signals shape the immune response recruited to target organs of high blood pressure.


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