How Mind Machine Interfaces can Calm Tremors
One way that BCIs are affecting hundreds of thousands of people around the world is through the prevention of essential tremors. Imagine a person named Joan. Joan was having a wonderful day: She had woken up at the break of dawn to the twittering of birds outside in the cool, crisp morning air. It was turning out to be a beautiful day, the sun beginning to lap at the tops of the trees, painting them in deep hues of orange and red. The night frost that delicately held the grass and bushes hostage was slowing retreating, waiting for another night. The day couldn’t have been going better, Joan thought, as she began breakfast. The bacon sizzled satisfactorily as the aroma filled the small kitchen and permeated the cool morning air. She went to start the pancake batter, mixing out the big lumps of flour, when she felt it.
“I can’t tell it’s coming, but I always know right before they happen,” she later told me. In less time than it took to put the batter bowl down, the tremor hit, causing her to splatter batter over everything: the counter, the perfect bacon, her clothes.
“Instantly, my morning was ruined,” Joan recalled. “I am used to it, but it still messes with me.”
Joan is one of 7 million people nationwide suffering from essential tremor (ET). Essential tremor is a neurological disorder that causes unintentional rhythmic muscle movement. This disorder can be caused by genetic mutation, age, etc. Parkinson’s Disorder is a common cause of tremors and, early on, looks very similar to ET, which is why it’s often misdiagnosed as such. For the majority of people, however, doctors are unsure of the exact cause of ET.[1] It is thought to be passed down through familial relations: A genetic mutation passed from parent to child has been tagged as the cause of about 40% of ET patients. The tremors can affect a person’s arms, hands, head, larynx, chin, or even tongue. However, they rarely extend to the lower part of one’s body. The neurological reason for ET is abnormal electrical brain activity processed through your thalamus, a structure deep in your brain that is responsible for coordinating and controlling muscle activity.
So, if the problems arise from this small, unknown portion of your brain, how do we fix it? Well, it turns out that there are ways to fight this annoying and chronic condition. Of course, there are drugs used to battle this disorder, such as primidone and propranolol, which are effective in approximately 50–70% of patients. However, patients with debilitating ET often turn toward surgical procedures. Neuravive and deep brain stimulation (DBS), are two of the main surgical treatments of ET.
The first, Neuravive, works with the presumption that ET stems from abnormal signals in the thalamus. This procedure starts by locating the confusion in the thalamus by monitoring brain waves during the tremors and pinpointing the abnormal signals. After the signals have been located, the section of the thalamus is “burned” with an MRI machine. By sending high intensity focused ultrasound energy, the tissue temperature is raised high enough to destroy it. While this treatment is very popular, due to its noninvasive nature and lack of radiation, Neuravive often only succeeds in calming the tremors in certain parts of the body, like your dominant hand.
The other surgical treatment is DBS. One manufacturer of this technology is the company Metronic, which has systems in hundreds of thousands of people and has proven successful in minimizing tremors. Someone with Parkinson’s who is unable to walk without the stimulator is able to once it is turned on.[2] DBS works by implanting electrodes in your thalamus and ultimately stimulating this part of the brain, which has been shown to significantly reduce tremors. A neurosurgeon implants electrodes into the thalamus, keeping the patient awake to test where exactly the tremors are originating. Wires are then placed along the neck to hook into the stimulator located under the collarbone.
Stay tuned to hear more incredible stories of how these interfaces are changing people’s lives and our perception of the human mind. I hope you enjoyed this post — if you want to connect you can reach me here via email admangan2018@gmail.com or connect with me on social: LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram. I am super excited to share that my book will be live on Amazon this Tuesday! Here is the link to buy it: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07H7RJLYC
