Mind Reading and Writing: The Future of Neurotechnology

Pieter R. Roelfsema*, Damiaan Denys, P. Christiaan Klink

*Corresponding author for this work

Research output: Contribution to JournalReview articleAcademicpeer-review

308 Downloads (Pure)

Abstract

Recent advances in neuroscience and technology have made it possible to record from large assemblies of neurons and to decode their activity to extract information. At the same time, available methods to stimulate the brain and influence ongoing processing are also rapidly expanding. These developments pave the way for advanced neurotechnological applications that directly read from, and write to, the human brain. While such technologies are still primarily used in restricted therapeutic contexts, this may change in the future once their performance has improved and they become more widely applicable. Here, we provide an overview of methods to interface with the brain, speculate about potential applications, and discuss important issues associated with a neurotechnologically assisted future.

Original languageEnglish
Pages (from-to)598-610
Number of pages13
JournalTrends in Cognitive Sciences
Volume22
Issue number7
Early online date2 May 2018
DOIs
Publication statusPublished - Jul 2018

Funding

This work was supported by the Netherlands Organization for Scientific Research (NWO; VENI grant 451.13.023 , P.C.K.; ALW grant 823-02-010 , P.R.R.) and the European Union’s Horizon 2020 Research and Innovation Program (grant agreement 7202070 ‘Human Brain Project SGA1’, P.R.R.; European Research Council (ERC) grant agreement 339490 ‘Cortic_al_gorithms’, P.R.R.). We thank Victor Lamme for insightful comments during the early phases of writing.

FundersFunder number
Horizon 2020 Framework Programme339490, 785907
European Research Council
Nederlandse Organisatie voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek823-02-010, 451.13.023
Horizon 20207202070

    Keywords

    • augmented cognition
    • brain–computer interface
    • consciousness
    • mind-reading
    • neurotechnology
    • stimulation

    Fingerprint

    Dive into the research topics of 'Mind Reading and Writing: The Future of Neurotechnology'. Together they form a unique fingerprint.

    Cite this