Brain-computer interface: Difference between revisions

Since the BCI includes both a biological and technological components, without specific characteristics of the biological factor that can be used, the system would not work. The technology works because of the way our brains function <ref name=”6”> Grabianowski, E. How Brain-Computer Interfaces Work. Retrieved from computer.howstuffworks.com/brain-computer-interface.htm</ref>. The human brain (arguably the most complex signal processing machine in existence) is capable of transducing a variety of environmental signals and to extract information from them in order to produce behavior, cognition, and action <ref name=”2”></ref> <ref name=”3”></ref>. The brains have a myriad of neurons that are individual nerve cells that are connected to one another by dendrites and axons. The actions of the brain are carried out by small electric signals that are generated by differences in electric potential carried by ions on the membranes of the neurons Even though the signal pathways are insulated by myelin, there is a residual electric signal that escapes and that can be detected, interpreted and used, such as in the case of BCIs. This also allows for the development of technologies that send signals into specific regions of the brain, such as in the case of the optic nerve. By connecting a camera that could send the same signals as the eye (or close enough) to the brain, a blind person could regain some measure of vision <ref name=”6”></ref>.

The non-invasively recording of the electrical brain activity by electrodes on the surface of the scalp has been known for over 80 years ago, due to the work of Hans Berger. His observations demonstrated that the electroencephalogram (EEG) could be used as “an index of the gross state of the brain.” Besides the detection of electrical signals of the brain, the neural activity can also be monitored by measuring magnetic fields or hemoglobin oxygenation, by using sensors on the scalp, the surface of the brain, or within the brain <ref name=”4”></ref>.