Genes from microorganisms allow neurons to be controlled by light pulses via fiber optics.

What do you get when you combine microorganisms and fiber optics? Mind control over mice and rats. Karl Deisseroth and his team at Stanford University have been making serious inroads into discovering how the brain works through optogenetics. The genes of certain algae and archae are spliced into rodent neurons, making them respond to light. Blue light turns the neuron on. Yellow light turns the neuron off. A fiber optic cable is connected into a living mouse or rat with the spliced genes allowing scientists to expose different neurons to different lights. The results are astounding. Stimulate the right hemisphere of a mouse, and it runs in circles to the left. Check it out in the video below!

Of course the applications for optogenetics go far beyond making mice run in circles. Deisseroth is able to target different neuron types, not just hemispheres of the brain. As he explains in the following video of a presentation at Stanford, such targeting gave give insight into the neurological mechanisms behind psychological conditions like depression (~14:55). By targeting the hypothalamus, scientists are even able to create basal wants and desires in animals (13:30). Deisseroth also gives an indepth look at the microorganisms and cell mechanisms that enable the photonic brain control (5:30), and how narcolepsy is triggered by stimuli in animals and humans (11:30).

The genetically modified rodent neurons contain proteins from algae and archae that were introduced via a virus. By pairing those proteins with receptors in the cell, Deisseroth has created a genetically encoded optical tool called an optoXR. These tools allow for control in the brain with great spatial and temporal resolution (as published in Nature, 2009). Deisseroth can control individual signaling pathways in neurons on a timescale of tens of milliseconds. According to Technology Review, the Deisseroth Lab used this signaling pathway control to induce drug-addicted type behavior in mice: The animals were allowed to roam freely through an area, but given light-pulses to the brain when they were in a designated “pleasure room”. Eventually, the mice learned to spend most of their time in that room.

As Deisseroth mentions in his talk, this can be pretty scary stuff. For now his group is working on understanding models of depression and other mental illnesses so that they can improve treatment. Eventually, optogenetics may give rise to technologies which could be used to affect human psychology directly through the brain. That’s delicate territory. What happens when genetic manipulation and miniaturized electronics allow us to directly target parts of our brain and stimulate them as we wish? What happens if we understand how to stimulate the hypothalamus and make anyone hungry? Or angry? Or aroused? We’ve already seen implants that seek to treat epilepsy, or connect our motor neurons to computers. The idea of putting a device in our heads to regulate our emotions isn’t completely impossible. Luckily it will take years of research before we are faced with the necessity of answering these questions.

But they are coming. The Deisseroth Lab isn’t the only team pursuing optogenetics. MIT Media Labs recently published in Nature to describe its own techniques for manipulating rodent brains while they are still alive. Optogenetics has become a proven avenue of research that is only going to become more intense as it continues to produce remarkable results. Human brain control, either to treat depression or something more nefarious, is years away. For mice, mind control is already here. A little scary, but hey, at least they get to hang out in the pleasure room as much as they like.

[image credit: Deisseroth Lab]
[video credits: Stanford University]
[sources: Stanford University Video, Karl Deisseroth Lab, Nature, MIT Media Lab]

A small humanoid robot (left) is given general commands based on brain signals of a user (right).

Mind controlled robots, wheelchairs, or cars… the difficulty really comes from the mind-reading, not the automation. While ASIMO’s venture into brain-control had users make direct commands (lift left arm, stick out tongue, etc), and Braingate directly measures motor neurons, Rao’s team takes a broader approach to mind-control. Surface sensors measure a very narrow range of brain activity and basically just report which of several objects/locations you show interest in. This command-level approach is less sensitive than the other systems (it also was developed years earlier), but it has important implications. When we see robots directly controlled by human minds (as in the movie Surrogates), we are shown a direct thought to action connection. I want the arm to lift, the robot lifts the arm. But what if you just thought: “I want that ball” and the robot handled the arm lifting and grasping on its own? Precision is important, but directly controlling all the myriad functions of a robot may be too difficult for many users. After all, many of us have coordination problems in our own bodies.

The video lacks sound, so here’s a quick play by play of what you’re seeing:
0:05 – The user is hooked up with non-invasive surface sensors that read brain activity.
0:25 – The robot identifies two objects on the table.
0:56 – The user is shown both objects, with a box alternatively flashing around each. Brain activity peaks when the flash is perceived, thus the system knows which object is being actively focused on.
1:15 – After the selection is interpreted, the robot proceeds to approach and lift the chosen object. (This takes a while).
2:00 – Again, using flashes to record the user’s focus, the robot is told to place the block on the blue platform with the gray square.
2:45 – Success!

[photo and video credit: Rajesh Rao, University of Washington]

A researcher, Adam Wilson, sent a tweet using BCI2000 software and an EEG.

Usually wearing a silly hat and staring at the computer doesn’t do anything besides make you lonely, but now with BCI 2000, that’s going to change. You’ve probably seen some of the really great videos of researchers playing pong, typing words, and controlling robots using just their thoughts. But did you know that they all relied upon the same software program to work? Brain Computer Interface 2000 is a software tool that facilitates reading brain signals in real time. That means EEGs and ECoGs can work better and faster. Why do you care? BCI 2000  lets you control computers with your mind. Someone even posted a tweet using BCI2000 and an EEG! Check out all the cool vids after the break.

Based out of New York and the University of Tubingen in Germany, BCI 2000 is helping make progress in a variety of institutions. The cool videos we have here all show how their software can be used to facilitate controlling computers, but the technology has a little more depth than that. Scientists can use BCI2000 to improve the clarity in their biosignal processing, and make rapid strides in their research. In fact, BCI 2000 has an open license so that those in academia or research centers can utilize it free of charge. Of course, generosity, as cool as it may be, isn’t quite as entertaining as watching someone play Spaced Invaders with their cerebral cortex.

You’ll notice that in each of these videos the controls have been simplified considerably. Typically the user is only required to control a single icon on the screen, and never in more than two dimensions. It’s also unclear what kinds of thought the test subjects are thinking. EEG and ECoG scans can focus on a wide range of neural activity: upper level thinking as well as motor neurons. There’s no guarantee then, that BCI 2000 let’s you control a robotic hand the same way as you control your own hand.

Compare this to the Braingate interface we’ve discussed before, which directly reads motor neuron signals, and is intuitive enough for use by monkeys. Of course, Braingate requires major surgery to install a chip on your brain, while BCI 2000 just requires you to wear a surface scan array. The less invasive procedure would certainly be more popular if it could provide the same level of resolution. We’ll let you know more about how these two techniques stack up to each as we learn more.

Part of the problem with evaluating BCI2000 is that it’s not tied to any single research. There have been many successful uses that simply involved better data analysis. Then again, it’s helped guide a robot dog (see below). More than 35 scientific papers were published last year that involved using BCI 2000 in some form or another. In the end, however, BCI 2000 isn’t thought-control technology, it’s just thought-analysis technology that’s occasionally been put to that use.

Which is still pretty cool. There’s only so many times I can watch people move cursors with their thoughts before I get a serious case of envy. I can’t wait until BCI 2000, or some other software tool, becomes sophisticated enough to allow three dimensional control and direct one to one mapping between thoughts and actions. Guiding a cursor to help direct a robot dog is neat, but there will come a day when the robot could follow your thoughts just like your hands or fingers do. Brain computer interfacing is developing rapidly, so go ahead and find yourself a silly hat. It will come in handy soon.

That's Not a Horse! It's Just a Man Behind You With Two Coconuts!

For those in the non-invasive camp, however, it will be a bit of a wait (check out Braingate for the status of invasive techniques). As is proven with the Emotiv Epoc, the technology is not quite there. Thought controlled computers are still a bit of a chore for the able-bodied but, for the disabled, are already making quite an impact. The newest gadget in personal mobility is the thought-controlled wheelchair, and this iteration seems to have quite a complex navigation system. Rather than go with the smile forward, blink to turn method that Cuitech Inc. took with the Epoc-equipped chair, researchers at the University of Zaragoza adopted a method similar to the brain-Twitter interface.

The user focuses on a point onscreen and, as the point blinks, the headset can determine at which area of the screen the user is looking. For the wheelchair interface, a laser is used to scan for obstacles and the user is given options by way of a 3-D map on the computer screen. Although the wheelchair is limited to about two processed thought-commands per minute, the route is already planned into the chair’s navigation system, so there is not much need for more intense user input. The slow input time is presumably due to the accuracy of the computer system, where because the electrical impulses that the headgear measures are so small, many measurements need to be taken for the same action. Take a look at the video for a demonstration.

As the technology improves, researchers are hoping that they will be able to process more commands in less time with the same accuracy. This would allow directional changes on the fly, rather than picking a pre-charted destination. The laser system that scans for obstructions also boasts a crash avoidance system, which allows for safe travel in the vehicle even though it is relatively slow to respond to driver instructions.

So far, the system has been tested on able-bodied and disabled people with great success. Currently, use of the wheelchair is limited to about two hours because the conductive gel that is used to create a sound contact between electrode and scalp begins to dry out. Researchers are looking into a more long-term method of increased conductivity, allowing the chair to be used all day.

Technologies such as these are the first step in producing a thought-controlling society. Even though two commands per minute or 10 tweeted characters per minute may seem slow to most, those who do not have the luxury of such rapid communication and transit can now benefit. Even this technology, however, may just be an interim solution until the invasive procedures are perfected, allowing a direct linkage between the brain and the computer. Nobody that we know can tell the future, but our tea leaves are telling us that the brain will eventually be wired directly into a computer through an invasive solution. The only question is: how soon until we get there?