Causal Neural Manipulation

# Causal Neural Manipulation **Entity class:** Technology, method, or technical system **Type:** Experimental method class **Collection:** [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] **Primary source:** [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] ## Definition Causal Neural Manipulation is a experimental method class identified in the source article's intervention used to test whether neural activity is necessary or sufficient layer. ## Relationships [[wiki/Causal Neural Manipulation|Causal Neural Manipulation]] is related to [[wiki/Optogenetics and Chemogenetics|Optogenetics and Chemogenetics]] as intervention used to test whether neural activity is necessary or sufficient.  This entry's documented connections are expressed in its definition and related-work routes, with provenance retained in the source-linked material.  ## Source route [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]] · [[collections/Neurotech|Neurotech]] ## Related Work in the Corpus  - In [[articles/The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas|The Organic-Synthetic Brain Atlas]], **V.2 — Optogenetics, Chemogenetics, and Causal Manipulation** provides the narrative context for **Causal Neural Manipulation**: Recording activity establishes correlation between neural patterns and behavior; causal manipulation establishes which patterns are functionally responsible for which behaviors.  ## Simple Reminders, Quotations, and Thoughts > "In essence this means that the high degree of brain plasticity normally evident only during early development can now be made to occur throughout the life span. This is undoubtedly a game changer in the brain sciences. Imagine being able to restore the plasticity of neurons in the language centers of your brain, enabling you to learn any and all languages effortlessly and at a rapid pace. The restoration of neuronal plasticity would also have important clinical implications since unlike in the mature brain, connections in the developing brain are capable of sprouting (i.e. new growth). For this reason, this technology could provide a powerful means to combat loss of neuronal connections, including those resulting from brain injury as well as various disease states." > **— Leo M. Chalupa**, *2009, Edge Annual Question, “What Will Change Everything?”* [[reminders/Neural Interfaces/Restored Brain Plasticity Could Make Learning Effortless by Leo M. Chalupa|Restored Brain Plasticity Could Make Learning Effortless by Leo M. Chalupa]] > "The neural code is science’s deepest, most consequential problem. If researchers crack the code, they might solve such ancient philosophical mysteries as the mind-body problem and the riddle of free will. A solution to the neural code could also give us unlimited power over our brains and hence minds. Science fiction—including mind control, mind reading, bionic enhancement and even psychic uploading—will become reality. Those who yearn for the Singularity will get their wish." > **— John Horgan**, *2017, Edge Annual Question, “What Scientific Term or Concept Ought to Be More Widely Known?”* [[reminders/Neural Interfaces/Cracking the Neural Code Could Give Us Power Over Mind by John Horgan|Cracking the Neural Code Could Give Us Power Over Mind by John Horgan]] > "I've argued elsewhere that the neural code may turn out to be so complex that it will never be fully deciphered. But 60 years ago, some biologists feared the genetic code was too complex to crack. Then in 1953 Crick and Watson unraveled the structure of DNA, and researchers quickly established that the double helix mediates an astonishingly simple genetic code governing the heredity of all organisms. Science's success in deciphering the genetic code, which has culminated in the Human Genome Project, has been widely acclaimed — and with good reason, because knowledge of our genetic makeup could allow us to reshape our innate nature. A solution to the neural code could give us much greater, more direct control over ourselves than mere genetic manipulation." > **— John Horgan**, *2006, Edge Annual Question, “What Is Your Dangerous Idea?”* [[reminders/Neural Interfaces/Solving the Neural Code Could Give Us Direct Control Over Ourselves by John Horgan|Solving the Neural Code Could Give Us Direct Control Over Ourselves by John Horgan]] > "I foresee that the ability to measure and recreate brain activity at the level of specific neurons at will is about to transform us in ways that no other invention ever has. The invention of fire, of the wheel, of antibiotics or the Internet changed how we live our lives in profound ways. It made our lives safer, more comfortable, and more exciting. But they have not changed who we are. Being able to record and manipulate brain activity will change who we are. It will serve as an interface through which computers can become part of our brain, and through which our brains could directly interface with each other." > **— Christian Keysers**, *2016, Edge Annual Question, “What Do You Consider the Most Interesting Recent Scientific News? What Makes It Important?”* [[reminders/Neural Interfaces/Recording and Recreating Neurons Could Change Who We Are by Christian Keysers|Recording and Recreating Neurons Could Change Who We Are by Christian Keysers]]