On January 29, American entrepreneur Elon Musk announced that neuralink, a neurotechnology company under his name, had completed a "brain-computer interface" chip implantation operation.
By surgically implanting devices into the brain, patients can control their mobile phones and computers through their minds, and then control many devices to assist in some basic operations in life, which may bring good news to patients with limited mobility, and even ALS patients may "restore" their mobility.
As soon as the news came out, "brain-computer interface" quickly appeared on the global hot search. But this is not a new project for China. In fact, similar surgeries have already been done in clinical research in China.
"Brain-computer interface" is to establish a connection between the computer and the central nervous system of the brain, which can obtain brain signals, and then read and decode them and feed them back. This research originated in the 50s of the last century, initially using scalp EEG to obtain indirect signals, and later implanted into the brain through electrodes to directly obtain brain signals.
Some of the research results have been applied to medicine, such as "cochlear implants", in which a prosthesis is implanted into the brain, so that different signals are transmitted to the brain so that it can understand language.
Shanghai Ruijin Hospital, a few years ago, applied "brain-computer interface" to the clinical research of "treatment-resistant depression".
In January 2022, Wu Xiaotian, a teenager from Jiangsu, underwent "brain-computer interface" surgery.
To put it simply, two electrode wires are surgically implanted in the brain and a powered brain pacemaker is implanted in the chest. Then, through the mobile phone APP, the brain signal can be obtained, and the stimulation of the electrodes to the brain can be adjusted in real time, so as to adjust the mood and achieve the purpose of improving depression.
The surgery involves implanting a machine in the human brain and chest, and there are more than a dozen possible risks and risks: hemiplegia, vegetative state, lifelong incontinence, etc.
But Wu Xiaotian was determined to do it, at that time he had been suffering from depression for 16 years, and he just wanted to get better as soon as possible. If he couldn't, he would rather die on the operating table.
It all sounds like a sci-fi thing, like setting a switch in your brain, and once you adjust it to the right mode, it can make people happy. Why did Wu Xiaotian have to have this surgery? Two years have passed, and how has his life changed?
A 15-year-old boy suffers from depression, and his family does not understandWu Xiaotian grew up in Nantong, Jiangsu, and when he was a child, he was lively and cute, especially fond of singing. He has a good voice and also likes to communicate with people and talk endlessly. His parents were in business. At the age of 9, they moved to Suzhou. The unfamiliar environment made Wu Xiaotian a little nervous. He couldn't understand Suzhou dialect, and he was afraid that others would laugh at him for having a "country accent". In class, he was called up to answer questions, which caused some of his classmates to laugh. He felt embarrassed, and since then there have been some barriers to communication. 
The picture is from Weibo @澎湃新闻 Wu Xiaotian doesn't know when his depression began. I just remember that from then on, he often made slips of the tongue and didn't laugh as much as he used to. When he was in junior high school, he was like a ** person in the class, not talking or socializing.
His grades were average, and he later went to vocational high school. At the age of 15, his state became worse and worse, and what he said in his mouth was completely different from what he thought in his head. For example, he clearly feels hot, but when he speaks, it is cold; He obviously wanted to open the door, but the door became closed. He felt as if his brain wasn't listening to him. When faced with a simple question during an exam, the brain cannot function. There is an obvious abnormality in his words and deeds, and some classmates call him "stupid", and he also feels that he is quite stupid. 
The picture comes from Weibo @澎湃新闻 When it is uncomfortable, Wu Xiaotian will cry when he goes home. His parents didn't understand, not only did they not comfort him, but also scolded him: "What are you crying about, it's not that someone is dead in the family!" ”They even blamed him for crying about losing his fortune in business, and at one point wanted to beat people. Mr. Wu thought he might be suffering from depression. Parents are even more puzzled, the older generation has suffered a lot and lived well, and the children have not suffered, so what is the depression? They think that Wu Xiaotian is lazy and hypocritical, and the so-called discomfort is all pretended, purely to make excuses for themselves. Wu Xiaotian studied auto repair for 5 years in higher vocational school, but did not look for a job after graduation. He didn't want to see people and locked himself in the small warehouse where his parents were doing business. His parents thought that his problems were all boring and took him to the talent market to find a job. During the interview, he couldn't even speak clearly. 
The picture comes from Weibo @澎湃新闻吴晓天 tried the job of a waiter, and he was particularly tired. He is 183 tall and weighs only 60 kilograms. When I was scolded by the manager, I couldn't cry. He sometimes tried to complain to his parents, but their words were merciless: "I don't know what you're tired of, we don't work all day as tired as you." The family's incomprehension made his state worse and worse. He simply stopped talking too much, put on headphones, closed the door, and closed the channel of communication with his parents. 
After 16 years of painful struggle, he decided to become a "robot".Wu Xiaotian had tried to ask for help. He went to Hangzhou to learn from a qigong master, wanting to change his mood by exercising. But Zama walked for 2 hours, except for making the body more tired, the mood did not ease in the slightest. He went to the hospital to check his body and tried acupuncture, hypnosis and other methods, but nothing worked. In the 8th year of his illness, he decided to see a psychiatrist. His parents thought he was "blind toss", he didn't want to be sick, and they didn't give him money for medical treatment. Later,He borrowed 8,000 yuan, and after 12 visits to a psychiatrist, he was officially diagnosed with "depression". This result made him a little happy, and he finally clarified his problem. The doctor told him to take the medicine, and he took it on time. The bedside table was full of various medicine bottles, but none of those drugs had any effect on him, and he was in better condition when he first took it, but it didn't work in a few days.
The picture is from Weibo @澎湃新闻He tried the medicine for 8 years, and was full of hope and disappointed countless times. Emotionally, he also did not receive any support, and his parents always thought the disease was humiliating. In severe cases, he lay on the bed and could not move. Later, he felt that he could never live like that again. He added some QQ groups to discuss the topic of death, and also tried cutting his wrists and burning charcoal, and he still has 2 scars on his arms. When he was in a good state, he would search for ** cases on the Internet, and gradually learned about the "brain-computer interface" surgery, and also learned about the clinical trials of Shanghai Ruijin Hospital. He wanted to go to the hospital for surgery, which might be his last chance to be reborn.
The picture comes from CCTV's "Dialogue" Wu Xiaotian submitted an application, after countless tests, evaluations, and brain image examinationsHe passed the screening and became the "No. 10" patient in the clinical trial. The doctor clearly told him that there were risks associated with the operation, the most serious could be death, followed by the possibility of becoming vegetative, and at the same time there were more than a dozen other risks and *** parents felt that it was too dangerous and did not want him to have surgery, they just wanted the child to live. But Wu Xiaotian feels that life is not in quality, and that half-dead state is not really alive, but a kind of torture. He told his parents that if he wasn't allowed to have surgery, he would commit suicide. Later, he signed a form of information about the operation.
The picture is from CCTV's "Dialogue".On January 18, 2022, Wu Xiaotian underwent brain-computer grafting. He was wheeled into the operating room, with holes drilled on each side of his brain, two electrodes inserted, and a pacemaker implanted in his chest to power the electrodes. He was one of the first patients in the world to use this technique** for depression.
The picture is from CCTV's "Dialogue" After the operation**, Wu Xiaotian was called to the conference room, and the equipment was officially turned on and debugged. There is an associated app in the doctor's computer, which can set different parameters to stimulate the electrodes, and after countless switching, it was finally adjusted to a state that made Wu Xiaotian feel comfortable. At that moment, Wu Xiaotian felt that he had been reborn. He felt as if he had been frozen for 16 years, finally back to the way he was before he was 15. The energetic sunny boy is back.
With the "happiness switch" in the brain, life can be restartedToday, Wu Xiaotian has adapted to living with machines. Every morning when he wakes up, the first thing he has to do is to connect the machine in his body with the remote control, and then click on the mobile app to adjust the mode to "working mode". A typical feature of depression is that it is "heavy in the morning and light in the evening", so the machine usually stimulates the brain during the day to make people feel comfortable, and turns it off at night or when the symptoms are mild. Wu Xiaotian refers to the stimulation state after power-on as "working mode" and after shutdown as "rest mode". Wu Xiaotian described the state before and after the boot as "one second of heaven, one second of hell." ”After turning on the machine, he felt that the lost vitality was immediately returned. And as soon as the computer is turned off, he will fall into a state of depression again. The machines buried in his body became the switch for him to control his emotions.
The picture is from CCTV's "Dialogue".After the operation, Wu Xiaotian's condition improved by about 80%. He started singing again, bought a stereo, and sang as if no one was there on the open grass. He also connected with his former best friends, made an appointment to go to KTV, and made an appointment to go to dinner. In the past, he was a phobia, and he would tremble when he heard it. And now he has "social", he speaks loudly, and he can talk non-stop when he encounters things that interest him. His parents converted their house into a homestay, and he helped with the operation, contacting and serving guests. If the guest asks if there is anything fun and delicious, he will also help introduce it.
Wu Xiaotian is still taking medicine, and he will have some reactions if he stops taking medicine. After he adjusted to "work mode", he needed to replenish sugar to maintain his strength, so he was fatter than before. Wu Xiaotian is very grateful for the brain-computer interface surgery, and he feels that he has finally come out of his depression by relying on the power of technology. The day of that surgery was his second birthday.
I have a long way to go, and I just want to live like an ordinary personAfter Wu Xiaotian and the brain-computer interface surgery were reported, the comments were polarized. Some people believe that relying on the power of science and technology to get out of depression is a good thing, giving people with depression a new attempt. Some people also believe that implanting a chip is a bit like being implanted with electronic opium, because laughter and anger are not generated by themselves, but controlled by machines. This brings some ethics involved. In Wu Xiaotian's view, there is an essential difference between brain-computer interface and opium, and what he can feel is the return of vitality. It's a medical treatment that brings him back to his true self.
The project using brain-computer interface** depression is currently only in the clinical research stage, with 30 patients participating and an average improvement of 60% in depression. Wu Xiaotian's improvement rate is relatively high, reaching 80% to 90%. There are also some patients who have a weak sense of stimuli and do not improve their mood even after regulation. This project is still in the experimental stage, and there is still a long, long way to go before it can be promoted to the clinic.
According to data disclosed by the World Health Organization (WHO) in 2022, there are 3500 million people suffer from depression, and the rate of patients has increased by about 18% in the past 10 years. According to this estimate,There are more than 95 million people with depression in China, nearly 100 million. According to the results of the Chinese Mental Health Survey, the lifetime prevalence of depressive disorders in China is 68%。For people with depression, the greatest wish is to return to normal life. Some people can be well controlled by taking medicine, and some people are ineffective when taking medicine, and even have thoughts of suicide. Wu Xiaotian now often talks about brain-computer interface surgery and his own experience. He hopes that more people can understand patients with depression and that patients will not despair. He believes that the biggest benefit of this operation is that it gives everyone hope, and if there is hope, there is the strength to live.
Wu Xiaotian has gradually returned to his normal life, and the machine has become a part of his body. His wish is simpleDo a job you like, have three or five friends, be able to sing, learn about science and technology, and do things that make you happy. He is also cooperating with doctors to do related research. When he is in good condition, he hopes to lower the parameters of the machine, and if he can adapt, maybe he can live well without the machine completely in the future.