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Brain-Computer Interfaces to Control Feelings

posted by martyb on Friday May 30 2014, @03:33AM   Printer-friendly
from the helping-people-feel-better dept.

AnonTechie writes:

Researcher Jose Carmena has worked for years training macaque monkeys to move computer cursors and robotic limbs with their minds. He does so by implanting electrodes into their brains to monitor neural activity. Now, as part of a sweeping $70 million program funded by the U.S. military, Carmena has a new goal: to use brain implants to read, and then control, the emotions of mentally ill people. This week the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, or DARPA, awarded two large contracts to Massachusetts General Hospital and the University of California, San Francisco, to create electrical brain implants capable of treating seven psychiatric conditions, including addiction, depression, and borderline personality disorder.

 
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  • (Score: 4, Interesting) by edIII on Friday May 30 2014, @04:55AM

    by edIII (791) on Friday May 30 2014, @04:55AM (#49014)

    Yeah.... that was ... ominous. Ominous is the word I'm looking for here.

    My first thought was more arguments from school district fascist whackos. You're abusing your kid because he was diagnosed with depression, ADHD, bipolar, etc. bullshit at a young age and they want to implant something in his brain and you have the audacity to say no.

    That's just terrifying. Waking up in a re-education camp with a shaved scalp and stitches. You're not even entitled to your feelings anymore.

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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 30 2014, @02:10PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday May 30 2014, @02:10PM (#49151)

    Orwell was an optimist.