Musk claims his Neuralink brain chip could ‘cure’ tinnitus — but don’t hold your breath
He also promised self-driving cars in 2019 and we all know how that worked out
What is Neuralink?
The coin-sized Neuralink device, called a Link, isimplantedflush with the skull by a precision surgical robot. The robot connects a thousand miniature threads from the Link to certain neurons. Each thread is a quarter the diameter of a human hair.
The device connects to an external computer by Bluetooth for continuous communication back and forth.
In the future, Neuralink prostheses might help people with various kinds of neurological disorders where there is a disconnect or malfunction between the brain and the nerves that serve the body. That includes people with paraplegia, quadriplegia, Parkinson’s disease, and epilepsy.
Since its establishment in 2016, Neuralink has beenrecruiting top-class neuroscientistsfrom academia and the broader research community to develop the technology to treat these conditions.
Neuralink’s monkey can play Pong with his mind
In April 2021, the company released a remarkable proof-of-conceptvideo. It showed a nine-year-old macaque monkey called Pager successfully playing a game of Pong with his mind, by having an implanted Neuralink device connected to a computer running the game.
Pager was shown how to play Pong using a joystick. When he made a correct move, he’d receive a sip of banana smoothie.
As he played, the Neuralink implant recorded the patterns of electrical activity in his brain. This identified which neurons controlled which movements.
When the joystick was disconnected, Pager was able to play the game and win using only his mind.
Human trials to further develop the Neuralink prototype are expected to commence towards the end of 2022, contingent on the United StatesFood and Drug Administration(FDA) approval.
Musk’s tinnitus claims
Elon Muskhas claimedthe Neuralink device could cure tinnitus by 2027.
Tinnitusis a neurological condition that manifests as a ringing or buzzing in the ears in the absence of an external source.
Tinnitus is acommon problem, caused when the nerve that connects the inner ear with the brain, known as the vestibulocochlear nerve, is damaged due to prolonged loud noise, injury, or deficiencies in blood supply.
A cure for tinnitus has provenelusive. Treatment currently centers on masking the sound or learning to ignore it.
At present, the Neuralink prosthesis connects to the cerebral cortex, the surface layer of the brain. This is where the device can remedy damage to the brain’s ability to process motor sensory input or output.
Are Musk’s claims credible?
These claims might appear grandiose. Yet the underlying science isnot controversial.
Neural implantshave been helping people since the early 1960s when thefirst cochlear implantwas placed in a person with impaired hearing. There has been much progress in the 60 years since then.
Neuroscientistsare broadlyoptimisticthe device has the potential to treat tinnitus. It may also be useful in treating obsessive compulsive disorder, repairing brain injuries, and conditions such as autism or degenerative diseases of the nervous system using deep brain stimulation.
As Paul Nuyujukian, director of the Brain Interfacing Laboratory at Stanford University,observes:
What do we need to be cautious of?
TheFDAcategorizes Neuralink as aclass III medical device, the riskiest category. Before human trials start, Neuralink must successfully clear the rigorous FDA regulatory controls.
To be approved, the company must provide exhaustive clinical trial data from non-human test subjects (such as Pager the monkey) to conservatively justify moving to the next phase. Some monkeys have died during Neuralink’s tests, andcritics have raised animal welfare concerns.
The approvals process for human testing could take some time.
The regulators will be looking for unintended negative consequences of the device, such asdepression. Also of interest will be how practical it is to remove or repair a device should it malfunction, and how to manage the risk of brain injury or infection.
Once FDA-approved, Neuralink willenlisthuman volunteers and the next round of trials will proceed.
How long it will be until the device is commercially available and how much it will cost is anyone’s guess. It could be years and with a price tag that puts it out of reach for all but the wealthy.
So it’s wise to not hold out false hope for an affordable implant in the short term.
Article byDavid Tuffley, Senior Lecturer in Applied Ethics & CyberSecurity,Griffith University
This article is republished fromThe Conversationunder a Creative Commons license. Read theoriginal article.
Story byThe Conversation
An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.An independent news and commentary website produced by academics and journalists.
Get the TNW newsletter
Get the most important tech news in your inbox each week.
