From reading dreams to helping locked-up patients: what the future of EEG could look like

EEG brainwave reading technology helps monitor people with epilepsy and can detect when we fall asleep at the wheel in a simulator. As scientists celebrate the 100th anniversary of the test, here’s why many in the field are excited about its future applications in medicine.

Today’s electroencephalogram, or EEG, device consists of electrodes that are attached to the patient’s or subject’s scalp to collect and deliver images of brain waves in a noninvasive way. It has been used to determine whether someone with a severe brain injury who appears unresponsive can communicate yes/no answers, and to control devices such as drones and wheelchairs.

In a commentary in the latest issue of the magazine Nature Human behaviorFaisal Mushtaq, professor of cognitive science and director of the Centre for Immersive Technologies at the University of Leeds in England, and his team discuss responses to a survey of more than 500 experts who work with EEG, from neuroscientists to brain surgeons.

Their consensus is that being able to reliably diagnose seizures or brain tumors in real time is only 10 to 14 years away. But the chance of reading the contents of our dreams and long-term memories is estimated by some experts to be more than 50 years away — and considered closer to science fiction by others.

Neuropsychologist Sarah Lippé, professor of psychology at the Université de Montréal, uses EEG in her research on brain development in children with autism spectrum disorder and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD), and on how epilepsy may contribute to cognitive impairment in children.

Lippé, one of the commentary’s co-authors, pointed out how methylphenidate, sold under the brand name Ritalin, is often used to treat ADHD in children. “We can see that it rescues some of the basic sensory processing signals in these children.”

Because the EEG is so sensitive to both normal brain development and delays, if a doctor wonders whether a person’s symptoms are caused by ADHD, it can confirm it, Lippé said.

EEG instrument ‘hugely important’ for intensive care

Adrian Owen, a professor of cognitive neuroscience at Western University’s Schulich School of Medicine and Dentistry in London, Ontario, said EEG is critical for patients he works with in intensive care who have recently had a heart attack. severe brain injury.

“For those patients, it’s really hard to get them into an MRI scanner,” said Owen, who was not involved in the commentary. “Having another way to detecting consciousness “We have a high risk of having to treat them in intensive care, so we take the whole thing to their bedside and test it… that’s hugely important.”

Owen said his work with people who were thought to be completely ‘locked’ in their heads, when they could think, form opinions and understand what was going on around them, is now being widely applied. recognized by the medical communityincluding recently in the renowned New England Journal of Medicine.

“It’s not only a thing, it’s actually pretty common, and I think that’s something that’s really changed the status quo,” Owen said. Doctors and family members no longer assume a patient is unconscious just because they’re unresponsive, a huge change in approach from decades ago, he added.

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Deciphering dreams and preferences?

Owen said it’s interesting that the paper explores how reading dreams based solely on the “squiggly lines” of an EEG is likely to remain in the realm of science fiction, and he compares that idea to what he sees as “extremely plausible” applications — such as determining whether someone is awake while driving or flying, or fully anesthetized in the operating room.

But reading someone’s dreams isn’t just a matter of EEG technology developing to deal with it. Owen said that decoding dreams would require the invention of an entirely new technology, and so the idea remains fanciful.

The paper published in Nature Human Behaviour also raises ethical minefields.

“I’m sure some multinational technology companies are very interested in rolling out EEG or other neuroimaging technology just to get more information about their users that will give an indication of their preferences and emotions 24 hours a day. But should it be used this way?” said Dominik Welke, a researcher at the University of Leeds’ Department of Psychology, in a press release.

According to Lippé, a psychologist from Montreal, it is already possible to use EEG to look at someone’s enthusiasm or impulsiveness regarding the purchase of a product.

“It’s something to regulate and think about,” she said.

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