Comments on: Wired article on Matthew Nagle, one of Donoghue’s patients http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/ at the intersection of neuroscience and AI. Sun, 07 Sep 2008 01:38:32 +0000 http://wordpress.org/?v=2.6 By: neurodudes » Blog Archive » Amputee Controls Feels Bionic Arm as Her Own http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-37372 neurodudes » Blog Archive » Amputee Controls Feels Bionic Arm as Her Own Fri, 02 Feb 2007 19:56:41 +0000 http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-37372 [...] Given the recent progress in the decoding of motor signals from the brain and older progress on sensory feedback from neural prosthetics, this was to be expected. Nonetheless, watching this woman use her arm brings the message home in a visceral way. The spooky thesis of Rodney Brooks that “we will become a merger between flesh and machines” has gotten one step closer today. [...] [...] Given the recent progress in the decoding of motor signals from the brain and older progress on sensory feedback from neural prosthetics, this was to be expected. Nonetheless, watching this woman use her arm brings the message home in a visceral way. The spooky thesis of Rodney Brooks that “we will become a merger between flesh and machines” has gotten one step closer today. [...]

]]> By: Eric Spackman http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1224 Eric Spackman Tue, 31 Jan 2006 19:49:55 +0000 http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1224 I wondering how I can email matthew nagle I wondering how I can email matthew nagle

]]> By: Chris Chatham http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1149 Chris Chatham Thu, 05 Jan 2006 19:53:15 +0000 http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1149 I think there's substantial evidence to this effect, as you say "a high-resolution instance of neurofeedback which works because of the sophistication of the brain as much as the sophistication of the 'translation' and recording apparatus." For example, the article from 2001 about an electrode array placed on the tongue which can be rewired to visual cortex (below). THerefore the impressive technology here is really the plasticity of our own biological neural networks, not the de-noising algorithms or the electrode array itself (though those are admittedly pretty cool too). I am amazed that they were able to keep an array functioning in monkeys for 3 years - I didn't know they could keep neurons growing on silicon that long even in vitro. Here's the "seeing tongue" article: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010901/bob14.asp I think there’s substantial evidence to this effect, as you say “a high-resolution instance of neurofeedback which works because of the sophistication of the brain as much as the sophistication of the ‘translation’ and recording apparatus.” For example, the article from 2001 about an electrode array placed on the tongue which can be rewired to visual cortex (below). THerefore the impressive technology here is really the plasticity of our own biological neural networks, not the de-noising algorithms or the electrode array itself (though those are admittedly pretty cool too).

I am amazed that they were able to keep an array functioning in monkeys for 3 years - I didn’t know they could keep neurons growing on silicon that long even in vitro.

Here’s the “seeing tongue” article: http://www.sciencenews.org/articles/20010901/bob14.asp

]]> By: Bayle http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1148 Bayle Thu, 05 Jan 2006 18:58:17 +0000 http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1148 yeah i agree my guess is that it would be hard to initially get the brain to recognize that it has a motor control device in an unexpected place if you put the array elsewhere, but that you'd be able to find some way to do so (perhaps by initially training the subject to "think happy thoughts to go right, sad thoughts to go left" or something like that), and that after you did, the brain be able to would adapt to it as a limb. yeah i agree

my guess is that it would be hard to initially get the brain to recognize that it has a motor control device in an unexpected place if you put the array elsewhere, but that you’d be able to find some way to do so (perhaps by initially training the subject to “think happy thoughts to go right, sad thoughts to go left” or something like that), and that after you did, the brain be able to would adapt to it as a limb.

]]> By: Andy http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1146 Andy Thu, 05 Jan 2006 14:09:04 +0000 http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1146 "the best I’ve heard of is recording a tiny fraction related to motor planning and translating it into roughly which direction the monkey wants to move a limb" I wonder if it's really decoding a bit of the brain related to motor planning, or would it work if one jammed in the electrodes elsewhere? It seems to be a high-resolution instance of neurofeedback which works because of the sophistication of the brain as much as (more than?) because of the sophistication of the "translation" and recording apparatus. “the best I’ve heard of is recording a tiny fraction related to motor planning and translating it into roughly which direction the monkey wants to move a limb”

I wonder if it’s really decoding a bit of the brain related to motor planning, or would it work if one jammed in the electrodes elsewhere? It seems to be a high-resolution instance of neurofeedback which works because of the sophistication of the brain as much as (more than?) because of the sophistication of the “translation” and recording apparatus.

]]> By: Bayle http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1144 Bayle Thu, 05 Jan 2006 05:21:57 +0000 http://neurodudes.com/2006/01/05/wired-article-on-matthew-nagle-one-of-donoghues-patients/#comment-1144 Thanks to Erik Flister for pointing me to this article. Thanks to Erik Flister for pointing me to this article.

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