Interview with Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor A.Ya. Caplan
In connection with the great interest of the Russian-speaking it-community to such a topic as neuro-computer interfaces and to practical research in this field, the editor of the PROGRAMIST journalist interviewed A.Ya. Kaplan.
Psychophysiologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neurocomputer Interfaces (NNKI)
Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University,
Alexander Yakovlevich Kaplan
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Editorial staff : Hello, Alexander Yakovlevich. For a start, tell us a little about yourself, who are you from, family, children?
Alexander : Everything is like everyone else, and family and children. Place of work: from student days to the present, the same thing - Department of Human Physiology, Department of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Edition : Why did you connect your activities with science?
Alexander : It happened. I started with the unwinding of the alarm clock, then the compass ... and so, now, here, the human brain.
Edition : When did the first such interfaces appear?
Alexander : The first attempts began in the 80s of the last century in Germany to help completely paralyzed people manage a wheelchair and communicate. Such people are closed inside themselves and do not have the opportunity to contact with the world, their living brain is deprived of exits to the outside. At first they were taught to move the cursor on a computer monitor and answer “yes” or “no”. Then a way was found to write: when a letter conceived by the patient appears on the monitor, a clearer peak appears on the EEG. But here the problem of the speed of "writing" arises. And we are also working on it.
Edition : How did the project come about, whose ideas were fundamental?
Alexander : If you are talking about the IMC brain-computer interface project, this was a natural continuation of our work on EEG decoding. I wanted to check how much we understand the nature of those electrical echoes of brain activity that can be registered directly from the skin surface of the head. The key question is whether a person will be able to control the EEG characteristics, how much and how quickly. At first we directly connected the change of these characteristics with the RGB engine of the computer monitor. The subjects were not informed about these intricacies of the study. It turned out that this technical equipment allowed the brain to choose its preferred color with literally “the power of thought” and without the knowledge of the brain owner himself. With the publication of an article on this topic in the International Journal of Neuroscience in 2005, everything began. Then we went, typewriters, typography, puzzles, browsers and now we undertake a project of a manipulator thought-driven, computer games.
Editorial staff : Who else is working on IMC projects?
Alexander : Dozens of laboratories have been working abroad for 15 years already. In recent years, several teams have appeared in Russia, starting with IMC projects.
Prof. A.Ya. Kaplan conducts another testing of the brain-computer interface, driving a toy machine. EEG changes associated with mental commands are interpreted by a laptop computer and transferred to the machine.
Editorial staff : Sources of financing the IMC project?
Alexander : Of the most famous: Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR and the Foundation for Assistance to the Development of Small Forms of Enterprises Bortnik Fund)
Editorial : Foreign colleagues are surely interested? Are your works classified?
Alexander : Our works are in line with the world trend of civilian research in this area, providing for the free exchange of information through scientific journals and conferences. There is nothing secret in our works. True, we try to apply for patents.
Editorial : Our military show interest in IMC?
Alexander : I don’t know this very well, although, undoubtedly, in this area and in the field of prevention of antisocial and antiterrorist activities, one could also realize the potential of IMC technologies, which by their nature work with human intentions that manifest themselves at the EEG level.
Editorial : Sensors for home-made IMC?
Alexander : “Sensors for IMC” is a whole path: from electrodes to translator commands for actuators. Of course, the electronic elements are foreign, the most modern, even the probes used, but their connection schemes and all the algorithms, of course, are our programs. Therefore, "Sensors for IMC", obviously, of domestic production. But, if we commercialize them, then it turns out that our current models must be given “for rework” somewhere in China ...
Editorial : Do you have a publication? Where if not a secret?
Alexander : It can not be a secret. Publications are actually the only reporting documentation of a scientist! Of course, we have publications in leading domestic scientific journals, and in foreign journals of the corresponding profile. Look at our website
brain.bio.msu.ru there everything is laid out for novice colleagues and for professionals.
Edition : What other projects are you busy with?
Alexander : In addition to several projects with the IMC, we continue to study the basic mechanisms of the brain, the nature of some of its pathologies, trying to advance our knowledge of the brain in creating Internet social networks of the new generation.
Edition : What from the literature, recommend to beginner physicists-bioengineers?
Alexander : Pribram K. Brain Languages, Wooldridge D. Brain Mechanisms, G. Walter Live Brain, DJ DiLorenzo Neuroengineering, TW Berger et al. Brain-Computer Interfaces: An international assessment of research and development trends.
Editorial staff : What would you change or modify in the modern institute of national science?
Alexander : Mandatory international review of applications for research projects.
I would draw attention to the necessity of not only pumping science with money and building new institutions, but creating an optimal infrastructure of science so that money and institutions work in the right place at the right time and are provided with informational support.
Editorial : How does the knowledge of information technology help in scientific activities?
Alexander : Currently, this is 75% of success.
Editorial : Tell us about your hobbies?
Alexander : I love to travel the world and ... do science.
Edition : What are your future plans?
Alexander : More and more time to give to my own interests, and less and less - to custom work ... But, custom works provide these very own interests - probably, I will take up the project of a prosthetic brush that is controlled by EEG ... and also - computer games that are controlled by EEG.
I hope this material was interesting to you and, perhaps, will be an impetus to the study of neurophysiology and NCI.
Finally, I will give a link to a video interview on television with Alexander Yakovlevich:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv2iakaklOM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1QJiESXM0E
Psychophysiologist, Doctor of Biological Sciences, Professor, Head of the Laboratory of Neurophysiology and Neurocomputer Interfaces (NNKI)
Faculty of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University,
Alexander Yakovlevich Kaplan
')
Editorial staff : Hello, Alexander Yakovlevich. For a start, tell us a little about yourself, who are you from, family, children?
Alexander : Everything is like everyone else, and family and children. Place of work: from student days to the present, the same thing - Department of Human Physiology, Department of Biology, Lomonosov Moscow State University.
Edition : Why did you connect your activities with science?
Alexander : It happened. I started with the unwinding of the alarm clock, then the compass ... and so, now, here, the human brain.
Edition : When did the first such interfaces appear?
Alexander : The first attempts began in the 80s of the last century in Germany to help completely paralyzed people manage a wheelchair and communicate. Such people are closed inside themselves and do not have the opportunity to contact with the world, their living brain is deprived of exits to the outside. At first they were taught to move the cursor on a computer monitor and answer “yes” or “no”. Then a way was found to write: when a letter conceived by the patient appears on the monitor, a clearer peak appears on the EEG. But here the problem of the speed of "writing" arises. And we are also working on it.
Edition : How did the project come about, whose ideas were fundamental?
Alexander : If you are talking about the IMC brain-computer interface project, this was a natural continuation of our work on EEG decoding. I wanted to check how much we understand the nature of those electrical echoes of brain activity that can be registered directly from the skin surface of the head. The key question is whether a person will be able to control the EEG characteristics, how much and how quickly. At first we directly connected the change of these characteristics with the RGB engine of the computer monitor. The subjects were not informed about these intricacies of the study. It turned out that this technical equipment allowed the brain to choose its preferred color with literally “the power of thought” and without the knowledge of the brain owner himself. With the publication of an article on this topic in the International Journal of Neuroscience in 2005, everything began. Then we went, typewriters, typography, puzzles, browsers and now we undertake a project of a manipulator thought-driven, computer games.
Editorial staff : Who else is working on IMC projects?
Alexander : Dozens of laboratories have been working abroad for 15 years already. In recent years, several teams have appeared in Russia, starting with IMC projects.
Prof. A.Ya. Kaplan conducts another testing of the brain-computer interface, driving a toy machine. EEG changes associated with mental commands are interpreted by a laptop computer and transferred to the machine.
Editorial staff : Sources of financing the IMC project?
Alexander : Of the most famous: Russian Foundation for Basic Research (RFBR and the Foundation for Assistance to the Development of Small Forms of Enterprises Bortnik Fund)
Editorial : Foreign colleagues are surely interested? Are your works classified?
Alexander : Our works are in line with the world trend of civilian research in this area, providing for the free exchange of information through scientific journals and conferences. There is nothing secret in our works. True, we try to apply for patents.
Editorial : Our military show interest in IMC?
Alexander : I don’t know this very well, although, undoubtedly, in this area and in the field of prevention of antisocial and antiterrorist activities, one could also realize the potential of IMC technologies, which by their nature work with human intentions that manifest themselves at the EEG level.
Editorial : Sensors for home-made IMC?
Alexander : “Sensors for IMC” is a whole path: from electrodes to translator commands for actuators. Of course, the electronic elements are foreign, the most modern, even the probes used, but their connection schemes and all the algorithms, of course, are our programs. Therefore, "Sensors for IMC", obviously, of domestic production. But, if we commercialize them, then it turns out that our current models must be given “for rework” somewhere in China ...
Editorial : Do you have a publication? Where if not a secret?
Alexander : It can not be a secret. Publications are actually the only reporting documentation of a scientist! Of course, we have publications in leading domestic scientific journals, and in foreign journals of the corresponding profile. Look at our website
brain.bio.msu.ru there everything is laid out for novice colleagues and for professionals.
Edition : What other projects are you busy with?
Alexander : In addition to several projects with the IMC, we continue to study the basic mechanisms of the brain, the nature of some of its pathologies, trying to advance our knowledge of the brain in creating Internet social networks of the new generation.
Edition : What from the literature, recommend to beginner physicists-bioengineers?
Alexander : Pribram K. Brain Languages, Wooldridge D. Brain Mechanisms, G. Walter Live Brain, DJ DiLorenzo Neuroengineering, TW Berger et al. Brain-Computer Interfaces: An international assessment of research and development trends.
Editorial staff : What would you change or modify in the modern institute of national science?
Alexander : Mandatory international review of applications for research projects.
I would draw attention to the necessity of not only pumping science with money and building new institutions, but creating an optimal infrastructure of science so that money and institutions work in the right place at the right time and are provided with informational support.
Editorial : How does the knowledge of information technology help in scientific activities?
Alexander : Currently, this is 75% of success.
Editorial : Tell us about your hobbies?
Alexander : I love to travel the world and ... do science.
Edition : What are your future plans?
Alexander : More and more time to give to my own interests, and less and less - to custom work ... But, custom works provide these very own interests - probably, I will take up the project of a prosthetic brush that is controlled by EEG ... and also - computer games that are controlled by EEG.
I hope this material was interesting to you and, perhaps, will be an impetus to the study of neurophysiology and NCI.
Finally, I will give a link to a video interview on television with Alexander Yakovlevich:
www.youtube.com/watch?v=Sv2iakaklOM
www.youtube.com/watch?v=H1QJiESXM0E
Source: https://habr.com/ru/post/119830/
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