Some radical implications of Bach-y-Rita's discoveries.
Bach-y-Rita's clinical results in restoring lost sensory function are based on several phenomena not widely appreciated in cognitive science. First, there is volume transmission. Extensive laboratory observation has shown that the brain is much more than a network of synaptically connected neurons. Bach-y-Rita has found that a key implication of volume transmission is that it is a functional component in adult brain plasticity, also widely observed experimentally. Plasticity has led him to conclude that the structure of brain dynamics is beyond the scope of algorithmic computation. If the brain is not a computer, this insight would have a significant impact on the development of new technologies based on brain function. Bach-y-Rita's work is being extended from restoration of lost senses to the creation of new senses. This in turn could lead to a new technology of "wiring a human-in-the-loop" that would be utterly unlike any computationally based technology. Instead of mere interaction with a machine, the human "becomes one" with it.
Kercel
Stephen W
SW
Endogenous Systems Research Group, University of New England, Brunswick, ME 04011, USA. kercel1@suscom-maine.net
Reber
Arthur S
AS
Manges
Wayne W
WW
D001921:Brain / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D014584:User-Computer Interface