Friday, April 01, 2005
Brain Matter
After the last couple of weeeks, you'd think we have really got our stuff together when it comes to knowing how the brain works. So read this article.
The experiment took place a few months ago as part of a broader trial into what are known in the business as brain-computer interfaces. Although it is early days, aficionados of the technology see a world where brain implants return ability to those with disability, allowing them to control all manner of devices by thought alone. There are huge hurdles ahead. No one knows how much information we can usefully decipher from the electrical fizz of the brain's 100bn neurons.For give my impertinence to all those neurologists out there, but if we don't know "how much information we can usefully decipher from the electrical fizz of the brain's 100bn neurons," how can we know with such force of conviction when and when not consciousness and self-awareness are present in a person? How can we know when someone is or is not feeling pain?
