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Today and tomorrow at CaixaForum Barcelona, European and North American neuroscientists will discuss the latest advances in electrical brain stimulation and the brain/computer interfaces, both for therapeutic applications in patients with neuronal diseases and to improve human mental performance.
Neurostimulation of the brains of healthy people with electrodes in order to improve their mental cognitive abilities will undergo a complete transformation starting next year, announced Marom Bikson, professor of biomedical engineering at City University of New York (CUNY). According to this expert, 10 years from now it could be as common to see people with mental performance-boosting devices on their heads as it is now to see them with cell phones.
Some of the social applications include improving cognitive abilities and controlling sleep patterns through non-invasive brain stimulation in order to make it more restful. There are currently numerous smartphone apps that have come out of scientific papers. For example, applications that detect the phases of sleep depending on a person’s movement in bed, or another that emit sounds to synchronize brain waves and achieve deeper sleep or greater concentration.
Some of the main therapeutic applications of electrical brain stimulation, applied painlessly using electrodes, are treating the symptoms of major depression, blocking epileptic attacks, helping recover from a stroke and controlling Parkinson-related tremors. As of now, this technology is being used in clinical trials underway in Europe and the United States.
Regarding the design of brain/computer interfaces, like neuroprostheses, devices already exist to translate human thought into text messages on a computer and chips implanted in the brains of people with disabilities that allow them to regain mobility, one of the most advanced areas of research. “In the future, these devices will be able to do anything through thought, like turning on a light or moving a cursor,” says Sánchez-Vives.
According to the scientific leader of this B·Debate, “The precision with which brain activity is registered is growing and stimulation methods will most likely evolve and become more precise and with better-defined indications.” At the same time, she warned of the need to assess the side effects this technology has on the brain in the middle and long term, especially when used on healthy people.
