Keynote by Prof. Rafael Yuste: Neurotechnology: An upcoming revolution in science, medicine and society
The rapid development of neurotechnology, defined as methods to record or alter brain activity, will revolutionise science, medicine and the tech industry. In neuroscience, optical and nanoelectronic neurotechnological tools are enabling the systematic measurement and manipulation of brain activity in laboratory animals, providing deep insights into basic mechanisms of brain function. Similar tools, when applied to human patients, could enable a better understanding of the pathophysiology of mental and neurological diseases, likely leading to new therapeutics. Non-invasive brain-computer interface technologies will enable the direct linking of our brain to external computational devices, algorithms or memory storage. These advances could provide a new avenue of innovation and business opportunity for the tech industry, and lead to the mental and cognitive augmentation of our species. The application of neurotech is therefore poised to have a transformative effect upon humanity, with profound ethical and societal consequences intersecting with basic human rights such as mental privacy, free will and personal identity. Moreover, Europe is ideally poised to capitalize on its deep bench of expertise in neurotechnology and, with efforts such as Spain Neurotech, could come to the forefront of this exiting field.
