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Cognitive Science Fiction

Visual Plasticity

  1. Briefly describe the basis for visual restoration that Neuralink is pursuing.

  2. Sci-fi explores alternative worlds in which we have the capicity to do things like enhance vision or restore sight in adults. Companies like Neuralink pursue some of these noble ends using basic science and then make large claims to generate interest of the public and investors. What do you think are the moral/ethical implications that companies should consider of these pitches?

Sahel et al (2021)

  1. Breifly describe the procedure that was used to partially restore vision in patient RP.

  2. How long after training with googles did it take for RP to report visual improvement?
    • 7 days
    • 7 weeks
    • 7 months
    • 7 years
  3. Test 3 (EEG) occurred 5 months after tests 1 and 2. Did RP continue to have visual improvement during this time?
    • Yes
    • No

  4. Why did the researchers want to record the neural signal while RP performed a visual task?

  5. Why did RP use a head-scanning strategy in the task as shown in Supplementary Video 1 and Video 2?
    • His eyes were unable to move
    • He could only see objects in motion
    • The stimulated area was too small to detect objects not aligned with the camera center

  6. If you were blind, would you choose to have a proceedure like this?

  7. Based on what you see of RP in Supplementary Video 1 and Video 2, how do you think that his vision differs from your own?

  8. Do you have any questions that you want to discuss in class?