Beyond Boundaries: The New Neuroscience of Connecting Brains with Machines---and How It Will Change Our Lives [Hardcover]

Miguel Nicolelis (Author)

Book Description

Release date: March 15, 2011

A pioneering neuroscientist shows how the long-sought merger of brains with machines is about to become a paradigm-shifting reality

Imagine living in a world where people use their computers, drive their cars, and communicate with one another simply by thinking. In this stunning and inspiring work, Duke University neuroscientist Miguel Nicolelis shares his revolutionary insights into how the brain creates thought and the human sense of self—and how this might be augmented by machines, so that the entire universe will be within our reach.

Beyond Boundaries draws on Nicolelis's ground-breaking research with monkeys that he taught to control the movements of a robot located halfway around the globe by using brain signals alone. Nicolelis's work with primates has uncovered a new method for capturing brain function—by recording rich neuronal symphonies rather than the activity of single neurons. His lab is now paving the way for a new treatment for Parkinson's, silk-thin exoskeletons to grant mobility to the paralyzed, and breathtaking leaps in space exploration, global communication, manufacturing, and more.

Beyond Boundaries promises to reshape our concept of the technological future, to a world filled with promise and hope.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Duke University neuroscientist Nicolelis is a leader in the rapidly developing field that allows brains and machines to work closely together. His pioneering work has led to machines like robotic arms that rhesus monkeys control via the electrical impulses transmitted by neurons in their brains. Nicolelis describes this research and explains the paradigm shifts it has produced, such as a growing group of neuroscientists who now believe that physical and mental activities are not controlled by highly specialized brain regions, but rather "on populations of multitasking neurons, distributed across multiple locations." While Nicolelis predicts future developments, such as brain-machine interfaces that will, for instance, allow paralyzed humans to interact fully with their environment, he devotes most of the book to a historical perspective on neuroscience and to explaining the specifics of his research, which will fascinate neuroscience buffs but may be too detailed for general readers. B&w photos. (Mar.)
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From Booklist

Nicolelis defines his field of research as systems neurophysiology, and he guides interested readers to the frontier of brain knowledge in this account of his and colleagues’ experiments. Their practical objectives are the development of a brain-machine interface and, ultimately, a brain-to-brain interface. It seems that the former has been achieved in rudimentary fashion, as Nicolelis describes his Duke University lab’s success in rigging a primate so that its brain’s neural firings actuate a robot in Japan. Many images clarify scientists’ techniques for wiring up and measuring their clinical subjects, while Nicolelis’ explanatory text regularly steers into smiting his intellectual rivals, whom Nicolelis characterizes as holding that specific locations exercise brain functions, whereas he maintains that the brain operates in a distributed way, even as a biological version of physics’ relativity. As readers mull over the debate and absorb Nicolelis’ relativity idea, his conclusion outlines optimistic visionary predictions for neuroscience that will alert them to what’s coming down the pike in technology-driven human evolution. --Gilbert Taylor

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 368 pages
• Publisher: Times Books (March 15, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0805090525
• ISBN-13: 978-0805090529
• Product Dimensions: 9.3 x 6.2 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.3 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (15 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #648,992 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Miguel Nicolelis, M.D. Ph.D., is the Anne W. Deane Professor of Neuroscience at Duke University, Professor of Neurobiology, Biomedical Engineering and Psychology and founder of Duke's Center for Neuroengineering. He is also Founder and Scientific Director of the Edmond and Lily Safra International Institute for Neuroscience of Natal (www.natalneuro.net). As Brazil's best known scientist, Dr. Nicolelis has been an outspoken and passionate advocate for strengthening science education, technology and innovation and was selected to lead the country's "Commission on the Future of Brazilian Science." His award-winning research has been published in Nature, Science, and Scientific American and has been reported in Newsweek, Time, and Discover, as well as national TV networks and international media outlets.

Although for the past decade, Dr. Nicolelis is best known for his pioneering studies of Brain Machine Interfaces (BMI) and neuroprosthetics in human patients and non-human primates, he has also developed an integrative approach to studying neurological and psychiatric disorders including Parkinson's disease, epilepsy, schizophrenia and attention deficit disorder. He has also made fundamental contributions in the fields of sensory plasticity, gustation, sleep, reward and learning. Dr. Nicolelis believes that this approach will allow the integration of molecular, cellular, systems, and behavioral data in the same animal, producing a more complete understanding of the nature of the neurophysiological alterations associated with these disorders.

As of today, numerous neuroscience laboratories in the US, Europe, Asia, and Latin America have incorporated Dr. Nicolelis' experimental paradigm to study a variety of mammalian neuronal systems. Indeed, two of his books on multi-electrode recording techniques have become the most cited works in this field. His research has influenced basic and applied research in computer science, robotics, and biomedical engineering. This multidisciplinary approach to research has become widely recognized in the neuroscience community.

Dr. Nicolelis' research has been highlighted in MIT Review's Top 10 Emerging Technologies. He was named one of Scientific American's Top 50 Technology Leaders in America in 2004 and has twice received the DARPA Award for Sustained Excellence by a Performer. Other honors include the Whitehead Scholar Award; Whitehall Foundation Award; McDonnell-Pew Foundation Award; the Ramon y Cajal Chair at the University of Mexico and the Santiago Grisolia Chair at Catedra Santiago Grisolia. In 2007, Dr. Nicolelis was honored as an invited speaker at the Nobel Forum at the Karolinksa Institute in Sweden. More recently he was awarded the International Blaise Pascal Research Chair from the Fondation de l'Ecole Normale Supérieure and the 2009 Fondation IPSEN Neuronal Plasticity Prize. Dr. Nicolelis is a member of the French Academy of Science and the Brazilian Academy of Science and has authored over 160 manuscripts, edited numerous books and special journal issues, and holds three US patents.

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

17 of 19 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Connecting brain orchestra to machines April 13, 2011

By Jeff Briggs

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

Nicolelis describes complicated scientific problems in the way understandable to broad audience. His major idea is that information is processed by distributed neural architecture (brain "orchestra"). He developed neural implants that record from different brain regions. Nicolelis and his colleagues conducted experiments in rats and monkeys. They discovered how these animals sense and move, and they created interfaces that convert neural activities into computer codes of sense and movement, which can be then sent to robots and prostheses for the paralyzed. Nicolelis also suggests sending messages from brain to brain. In the last chapter a new treatment for Parkinson's disease is introduced. The book is well illustrated. I wish these were color illustrations. I found especially entertaining the story of Aurora monkey who controlled a robotic gripper by its own thoughts. Another monkey learned to walk on a treadmill and controlled a walking Japanese robot. I wonder if this technology can be implemented to repair the nuclear plant damaged by the earthquake. There are interesting parallels between the brain science and relativity theory. Overall, an excellent book, and thought provoking.

7 of 8 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars Interesting read April 28, 2011

By Randy

Format:Hardcover|Amazon Verified Purchase

I have been a fan of this scientist/author since his "monkey arm" experiments. This book was amazing and I am looking forward to reading his future works.

I gave it four stars rather than five, because the music analogies were a bit distracting in my personal opinion.

In general, the book covers past, present, and projected future for the field of BMI (brain machine interfaces)and neuroprosthetics. It is written and presented in a manner that does not require overly specialized knowledge about the field, but rather could be used as an introduction for curious individuals. However, even people that have kept up with the field's growth will likely enjoy it as much as I did.

14 of 18 people found the following review helpful

3.0 out of 5 stars Some nice visions of the future, too much history June 5, 2011

By Peter McCluskey

Format:Hardcover

This book presents some ambitious visions of how our lives will be changed by brain-machine and brain to brain ("mind meld") interfaces, along with some good reasons to hope that we will adapt well to them and think of machines and other people as if they are parts of our body. Many people will have trouble accepting his broad notion of personal identity, but I doubt they will find good arguments against it.

But I wish I'd skipped most of the first half, which focuses on the history of neuroscience research, with too much attention to debates over the extent to which brain functions are decentralized.

He's disappointingly vague about the obstacles that researchers face. He hints at problems with how safe and durable an interface can be, but doesn't tell us how serious they are, whether progress is being made on them, etc. I also wanted more specific data about how much information could be communicated each way, how precisely robotic positioning can be controlled, and how much of a trend there is toward improving those.