Page - 60 - in Cyborg Mind - What Brain–Computer and Mind–Cyberspace Interfaces Mean for Cyberneuroethics

60 • Cyborg Mind The device has already been implanted into several thousands of adults and, in 2013, the U.S. Food and Drug Administration approved a clinical trial for children in America.41 A few devices have also been implanted in children in Europe. A 2012 study of brainstem auditory implants concluded that most people who received them developed functional hearing, with awareness and recognition of environmental sounds. It also enabled some to enhance their lip-reading skills, while a number acquired enough speech recognition to conduct telephone conversations.42 But some patients still go through the trauma of surgery while receiving very little (if any) benefit from the devices. There is also an active debate about whether these implants should be offered to more children. On the positive side, the auditory system con- tinues to be developed over the first decade of life. Fitting a device during that period would increase the brain’s likelihood of adapting to its signals. Research demonstrates that the brain is particularly malleable before the age of two. This means that the implants may be particularly powerful if put into very young children.43 On the other hand, positioning the electrode is accomplished by destroy- ing the cochlear. This means that it is a once-in-a-lifetime decision when the device is installed and rules out any other technology that could be developed in the future. This can be particularly pertinent when considering such an implant for a young child, given the pace of progress. It may well be that a far superior device may become available long before he or she reaches adult- hood. In addition, it is uncertain how the implant will respond as the child develops, since there is a risk that the interface may be pulled out of place over time. Future Developments with Neuronal Interfaces for Hearing Using a phone is currently hard for some people with hearing implants because the sound from the phone’s loudspeaker has to be picked up by the microphone and then processed. Therefore, it has been suggested that a mobile phone capability be built directly into the implant, enabling the person to be hardwired into the phone system. In order to overcome any risks of having a microwave transmitter so close to the brain, it may also be possible to send the signal using a pocket-held transmitter. In addition, wireless interfaces are being considered that would reduce the need for communication wires. Interestingly, there would be no need to limit the input to phone calls. This sort of device could, theoretically, let a person listen to radio and watch television with the volume on mute. In addition, there is no reason why the microphone should be limited to picking up sounds in the normally audible This open access edition has been made available under a CC-BY-NC-ND 4.0 license thanks to the support of Knowledge Unlatched. Not for resale.