17 ms·
The movement isn’t the issue, they’re well secured. The problem is that the electrodes are slowly attacked by immune responses and over time the tissue around i
by Pharmakon 8y ago
The movement isn’t the issue, they’re well secured. The problem is that the electrodes are slowly attacked by immune responses and over time the tissue around it becomes sclerotic, and the electrodes stop working. Various potential solutions are being explored, such as growing specialized neurons with extremely long axons to use as the final interface. It’s still an unsolved problem through.
- adrianN 8y agoI wonder whether the immune system would learn that the electrode is not something to attack if you implant it prenatally, or shortly after birth.
- Pharmakon 8y agoI don’t know if the immune system could be trained that way, but it’s an interesting idea. Unfortunately one issue I can think of is that the same period you describe is both formative for the immune system (good for our purposes) and also the period of rapid growth of the brain (not so good). Even if the immune system could be trained during that time, the electrodes would still move relative to their intended targets. There’s also the issue a lot of these surgeries involve feedback from a conscious patient, and that’s obviously impossible with a newborn.
- samstave 8y agoSo there is an /r/writingPrompts if ive ever heard one: “prenatal cyber implants augmented your abilities - but have stunted your Humanity in what ways?”