Controlling arterial blood pressure using a computer-brain interface.

There has been recent interest in the concept of connecting a computer to the brain to control brain functions. However, there are challenges that must be overcome in developing such a computer-brain interface, including a selection of nucleus that is stimulated, and an implantable electrode and electrical stimulator. Another important issue is the designing of the controller, that is, determining how to encode as an electrical signal the information to be sent to the brain. We have applied system identification theory, a method for evaluating dynamic characteristics of a system, to the arterial blood pressure control system of the brain. Our results show that (1) the stimulation-arterial blood pressure response relationship can be described as a mathematical model, which gives a good prediction of the arterial blood pressure response, facilitating the designing of a computer-brain interface, and (2) the arterial blood pressure can be actually controlled using a computer-brain interface.