Photographer: Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg
Photographer: Andrew Harrer / Bloomberg
Elon Musk has made many claims about Neuralink Corp., his brain machine interface company. On Twitter and on podcasts, the billionaire has enlisted capabilities that sound nothing short of amazing: relieving depression, helping with obsessive-compulsive disorder and treating traumatic brain injuries.
Now Neuralink, whose work is largely kept secret, is set to give a public “progress update” on Friday.
In the run-up to the big revelation, Musk has allowed some glimpses into the company’s technology. An early appearance came a year ago, when the Neuralink team showed small electrodes on thin, flexible sins that they said could penetrate brain tissue with minimal damage, and ultimately help restore brain function to people with traumatic brain injuries. . The team has already placed them in rats and primates.
Will the devices actually be able to reach the breakthroughs Musk says they can? Here’s an overview of what we know so far about Musk’s startup – the latest claims, the technology, and what neuroscientists are saying is actually possible.
Assertion: Neuralink will soon be able to implant its technology in humans
On May 7, Musk appeared on the popular podcast, the Joe Rogan Experience, and made a distinctive statement about Neuralink: The startup could “implant a neurological link in a person in less than a year, I think.”
The prediction is actually not as groundbreaking as it sounds. Musk described a procedure that occurs fairly regularly to treat conditions such as epilepsy and Parkinson’s, despite potentially fatal risks such as cerebral hemorrhage.
Justin Sanchez, who helped fund research conducted by Neuralink scientists when he ran the office of biological technologies at the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, estimates that about 200,000 people worldwide have implanted some form of neurotechnology in their brains. . In fact, the technology at this point is so well developed that the Battelle Memorial Institute, where Sanchez is a guy, has developed a neurotechnology-based non-implanted device that is no more grandiose aimed at helping people improve their golf swings.
These fine wires are coated with electrodes and implanted in the brain.
Source: Neuralink
The other important element of Musk’s statement was that Neuralink is up for human trials next year. To test so quickly in humans, the company would need to get an exemption from the Food and Drug Administration’s normal multi-year regulatory process. That may be possible – other brain implants have received exemptions. But the Neuralink device may face additional challenges.
Currently, the company uses flexible polymers, which are likely to last a decade in the human body – the minimum time frame that the FDA would like to see in medical devices that cannot be easily removed. “If you want to test whether something can last 10 years, you really have to wait 10 years,” says Matt Angle, CEO of Paradromics Inc., a company based in Austin, Texas-based brain-machine interface.
A report in the health news site Stat News this week detailed internal tensions at Neuralink, citing former employees who said the corporate culture could be chaotic and that it was rapidly being driven by scientific talent. According to two anonymous former employees, it had possibly been investigated by continuing the U.S. regulatory process by following human trials in China or Russia.
Claim: Neuralink devices will be able to treat addiction and depression
On July 10, Musk took to Twitter with another notable statement. A Twitter user asked Musk if Neuralink could be used to retrain the part of the brain that causes addiction and depression. Musk answered“Sure. It’s both awesome and awful.”
Neuroscientists agree that placing electrodes in the brain can help limit these conditions. In fact, researchers outside of Neuralink are currently working on it, including Alik Widge, a psychiatrist and biomedical engineer at the University of Minnesota. The treatment involves applying electrodes to a place in the brain called the internal capsule, and works by stimulating connections with the prefrontal cortex to improve cognitive functions such as perception and judgment. About 200 patients worldwide have tried the technique for depression, Widge said.
In several countries, opioid addicts have implanted electrodes in the areas of the brain that control addiction. That includes the U.S., where a man in West Virginia underwent the procedure late last year at WVU Rockefeller Neuroscience Institute. He has since abstained from opioids, a spokeswoman said. A second opioid patient underwent the same operation earlier this month.
Although there are obstacles to broad adoption, there is no reason why Neuralink could not push these areas in the future. In a 2018 review of studies of deep brain stimulation and its effects on depression, scientists said the results “showed promise”, but the technique remained experimental. “The psychiatrists I talk to say they want to see much stronger effectiveness data,” Widge said.
Claim: Startup will be able to reduce circumstances such as obsessive compulsive disorder
On July 18, a Twitter user asked if Neuralink could help patients with obsessive-compulsive disorder and if it could stimulate the release of oxytocin, serotonin and other chemicals. Answer Musk simply, “Yes.”
Programs across the country are already doing this, so it’s likely that Neuralink could achieve the same thing one day, experts said. However, the understanding of scientists is still evolving just how the technology works. “We just have the understanding of bits and pieces,” said Rachel Davis, director of OCD and neuromodulation programs at the University of Colorado Anschutz Medical Campus, which works on the technology.
Many scientists see great potential here, especially since existing medicines are often lacking when it comes to OCD and related conditions. “The next big wave for these stimulation technologies will be voting,” said Dave Rosa, CEO of NeuroOne Medical Technologies Corp.
Claim: Neuralink could “fix” brain injuries, and treat conditions such as autism and ALS
On July 18, in response to Musk’s call for applicants who wanted to “solve” brain and spinal injuries, a Twitter user asked if Neuralink could also help disabled people with injuries, autism and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis, like ALS. Answer Musk it had that potential.
Illustration of what Neuralink’s first brain machine interface might look like in humans, with a series of implants connected to a device that was surgically implanted behind the ear.
Source: Neuralink
Deep brain stimulation, as a treatment via electrodes implanted in the brain, is already being used for traumatic brain injuries. Many patients have already undergone the procedure with promising results. Encouraging signs are also emerging that such technologies can help tackle autism. The implantation of electrodes in the brains of autistic people has in many cases helped to improve the symptoms.
However, treating ALS can be more difficult. Vikash Gilja, a former employee of Neuralink who now teaches at the University of California, San Diego and runs a translation research laboratory for neurological engineers, says it would be a serious disease to contend with brain machine interfaces, because it affects such broad areas of the brain. “We are seeing more frequent pharmaceutical treatments for that,” Gilja said.
Assertion: The company will be able to stream music directly into people’s brains
On July 19, a Twitter user asked if anyone with a Neuralink implant would be able to stream music “directly from our chips,” calling it a “great feature.” Wer, Answer Musk with a simple “Yes.”
Although it sounds far-fetched, neuroscientists say this feature is not clearly different from existing technology. “That’s very technically helpful,” says Angle of Paradromics. “The auditory path is very well mapped.”
Some in the scientific community have been wary of the company’s promises, fearing they could sue affected people for delaying necessary procedures. “One issue that keeps coming up is the ethics of making false hopes” around unknown timelines, “said Gilja, the UCSD professor and former associate of Neuralink. “Creating hope in a patient population can be a good thing, but it can be negative when a patient tries to determine if he or she is being treated.” They may believe that a better solution lies in the near future, when it may actually be years out.
Musk does not claim that Neuralink can do anything. Over the years, he has ignored questions, ranging from the creepy (as to whether it will facilitate head transplantation) to the quotidian (as to whether it will help with balance). “What will Neuralink do for the culinary arts?” asked one tweeter. Musk’s answer: silence.
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