Study: Few wearable neurotechnologies have been directly tested by high-quality, peer-reviewed research

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Wear­able brain devices sold with ques­tion­able claims (Com­put­er World):

Wear­able ‘neu­rotech­nol­o­gy’ devices have in recent years hit the main­stream mar­ket; pitched to con­sumers as a way to improve mem­o­ry and atten­tion, boost brain fit­ness and con­trol games and objects with the pow­er of the mind.

An analy­sis of com­mer­cial­ly avail­able wear­able ‘neu­rode­vices’ pub­lished this week in jour­nal Neu­ron has cast doubt on whether their mak­ers can back up such claims.

A team of researchers at Uni­ver­si­ty of British Colum­bia in Van­cou­ver iden­ti­fied 41 devices for sale, of which 22 were record­ing devices and 19 stim­u­lat­ing devices … For 33 of the 41 devices the mak­ers linked to research or resources that fur­ther explained the claim, but for only eight devices was this rel­e­vant peer-reviewed research. The remain­der typ­i­cal linked to a paper cov­er­ing the sci­en­tif­ic con­cepts behind EEG devices in gen­er­al, rather than the one being sold.

Illes and her team also expressed fears about the use of data from devices able to read brain activity.

How are these data used, and who has access to them? These are things we don’t know. We should be ask­ing these ques­tions,” she said.

The Study:

Own­ing Eth­i­cal Inno­va­tion: Claims about Com­mer­cial Wear­able Brain Tech­nolo­gies. (opens PDF)

  • Abstract: The wear­able neu­rotech­nol­o­gy mar­ket tar­gets con­sumers with promis­es of cog­ni­tive ben­e­fit and per­son­al well­ness. Sci­en­tif­ic evi­dence is essen­tial to sub­stan­ti­ate claims about util­i­ty, safe­ty, and effi­ca­cy and for informed choice and pub­lic trust.

The Study in Context:

About SharpBrains

SHARPBRAINS is an independent think-tank and consulting firm providing services at the frontier of applied neuroscience, health, leadership and innovation.
SHARPBRAINS es un think-tank y consultoría independiente proporcionando servicios para la neurociencia aplicada, salud, liderazgo e innovación.

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