Brain implants to restore speech make great strides

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Introduced in the cerebral cortex, the equipment is capable of recording the electrical signals produced by the parts of the brain dedicated to language. Brain implant allowed ALS patient to communicate Disclosure/Wyss Center Returning speech to people who have lost it is an increasingly feasible goal, thanks to advances made with brain implants, is what two experiments published in the journal Nature this Wednesday show. fair (23). Pat Bennet, aged 68, was a dynamic executive with a healthy lifestyle and sports practice. But 10 years ago, she was diagnosed with Charcot’s disease, a neurodegenerative disorder that gradually deprives the patient of his movement, until it causes complete paralysis. In her case, this disease initially translated into a difficulty in expressing herself, until she lost the ability to speak. Brazilians tell what it’s like to have a chip implanted in their hand Researchers from the department of neurosurgery at the American University of Stanford introduced, in March 2022, four small chips with 64 microelectrodes, made of silicone. Embedded in 1.5 millimeters in the cerebral cortex, these chips record the electrical signals produced by the parts of the brain dedicated to language. These signals are carried out of the brain by a set of cables and analyzed by an algorithm, which in the last four months has “learned” to interpret their meaning. That is, the algorithm associates the signs to phonemes and thus forms words, with the help of a language model. “Now we can imagine that in the future it will be possible to restore a fluid conversation in a person who suffers a paralysis” of language, assured in a press conference Frank Wilett, professor at Stanford and co-author of the study. Thanks to this technological device, Bennet speaks through a screen at a rate of over 60 words per minute. This represents a speech capacity lower than the 150 or 200 words per minute of a person who does not suffer from paralysis, but it is a rate three times higher than that achieved by a person with language paralysis in 2021, in another scientific experiment carried out by the same lab. His error rate on a 50-word vocabulary is 10%, compared to more than 20% before. US agency authorizes Elon Musk’s company to carry out studies for brain implants in humans Smart weapons: manufacturer promises gun that only fires after identifying shooter Artificial voice The second advance, described in Nature, was carried out by Edward Chang’s team at the University of California. His device is based on a group of electrodes installed in the cerebral cortex. Its effectiveness is comparable to that of the Stanford study, with an average of 78 words per minute. It represented a huge advance for the patient on whom the electrodes were installed. After suffering a paraplegia due to a cerebral hemorrhage, until now his speech capacity was 14 words per minute, with the help of a technique that followed the movements of his head. One of the specifications of the device from the Californian laboratory is that it not only analyzes the electrical signals of the part of the brain dedicated to language, but also the movements of the lips, tongue and other facial muscles that produce the sounds. “Between five and six years ago, we began to understand the electrical networks that govern the movements of the lips, jaw and tongue and that allow us to produce the specific sounds of each consonant, vowel and word”, explains Professor Chang. The interface between the brain and the device in this laboratory not only produces language in the form of text on a screen, but also with an artificial voice and an avatar that reproduces the patient’s facial expressions when he expresses himself. Now, the laboratory at the University of California hopes to develop a wireless version of the same mechanism. This would have “profound consequences for the patient’s independence and social interactions,” says David Moses, study co-author and professor of neurosurgery at the University of San Francisco. What it’s like to have a microchip implanted in your hand How it’s like to have a microchip implanted in your hand Company wants to scan the iris of the entire world population Company wants to scan the iris of the entire world population to collect data Campaign warns of the risk of posting photos of children on internet Campaign alerts to the risk of posting photos of children on the internet ALSO READ: Understand what a ‘hacker’ is and the difference to a ‘cracker’ How car thieves are becoming ‘hackers’ to steal more modern models How to choose a secure password

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