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Augmentation of brain function can imply restoration of function lost due to pathology or injury. On the other hand, techniques, approaches, and technologies used for brain augmentation in restoration can also amplify the range of human abilities in those without pathology. For example, non-invasive brain stimulation using transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) was originally applied for investigative and diagnostic purposes in neurological injury (Nollet et al., 2003). While TMS continues to be used in brain mapping and restoration of functional output (Romero et al., 2011; Bestmann and Krakauer, 2015), recent clinical applications in otherwise “healthy people” are widening. These include enhancing attention and vigilance (Nelson et al., 2014), motor learning (Cantarero et al., 2015) and various methods to “… improve attention, perception, memory and other forms of cognition…” (Clark and Parasuraman, 2014).  Technological augmentation of so-called “normal” human function moves us away from the functional limitations of our species and closer to “super” human function (Zehr, 2015), as with suggestions found in the transhumanist literature (Mcnamee and Edwards, 2006). Future applications of emerging technology can continue to shift us from our subspecies of homo sapiens sapiens to the transformative homo sapiens technologicus—a species that uses, fuses and integrates technology to enhance its own function (Zehr, 2011, 2015).  While there are many related approaches, this opinion article explores brain augmentation using approaches delimited to internally implanted biological enhancements (e.g. tissue engineering), and internal/external technological hardware [e.g., brain machine interface (BMI)].

Future think: cautiously optimistic about brain augmentation using tissue engineering and machine interface