Future Trends in Microelectronics: Up the Nano Creek

Interfacing the Brain – With Microelectronics?

Arto V. Nurmikko, William R. Patterson, Y.-K. Song, Christopher W. Bull

Division of Engineering, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, U.S.A.

John P. Donoghue

Department of Neuroscience, Brown University, Providence, RI 02912, U.S.A.

1.   Introduction

While paying appropriate homage to the technological revolution(s) empowered by modern microelectronics, and the continued march towards ever increasing sophistication of nanoscale high-density digital circuits, it maybe occasionally useful to pause and draw a reference to a computer of very different variety, namely the human brain. A product of millions of years of evolution, this non-silicon, biochemical processor features about 10¹⁵ interconnects amongst its three-dimensional (3D) network of 10¹¹ neurons (“neuristors”), while consuming about 10 W of power. Approximately 10¹⁶ synaptic events per second occur within the sublime architecture of our “cortical computer”, whose detailed design and operational principles define the main quest of modern neuroscience.

Science fiction has frequently visited the question of direct communication with the brain, including the prospects of interfacing the brain with external machines and extrasensory communication such as telepathy. Peeling away many such ideas of “brain alchemy”, in addition to their ethics, there is a nonetheless a serious and compelling medical rationale to pursue direct retrieval of command and control signals from the brain. ...