Abstract

Advances in medical device engineering, as well as our continuously increasing understanding of brain function, has increased the safety, reliability, and efficacy of neuromodulation methods for regulating human behavior over the past couple decades. Clinical neuromodulation devices are becoming frequently used for treating neurological and psychiatric disorders. Most clinical methods however rely on surgically implanted electrodes, such as those incorporated by deep-brain stimulation systems to treat Parkinson’s disease. Several different methods of noninvasive neuromodulation also exist and have been used to alter brain activity for research applications or to treat some nervous systems disorders. Some noninvasive methods involve delivering electrical currents or electromagnetic pulses to specific peripheral nerves or brain targets in order to modulate nervous system activity. Other more recently developed methods use focused ultrasound to noninvasively modulate human brain circuits or nerves at high spatiotemporal resolutions. Beyond the utility of restoring loss of function in therapeutic embodiments, these safety benchmarks have encouraged the widespread investigation of several different types of neuromodulation methods for their potential to increase gains in the performance and function of healthy individuals. Noninvasive neuromodulation has been shown to enhance brain plasticity and physical performance, accelerate learning, increase attention, and improve sleep. Additive gains have been shown when combining neuromodulation devices with biosensors and virtual immersion gaming systems as human computer interfaces. An overview of how electrical and ultrasonic neuromodulation methods embodied as human computer interfaces are being developed for enhancing the performance of military operators and defense personnel is provided in the present paper.