Cyborgs of New York

After an FDA Panel's surprise thumbs up to neural implants for treating depression on Tuesday, a recent NY Daily News piece, "Cyborgs of New York," sheds a welcome personal light on its significance. Choice quotes:

• "I prefer to think of myself as being bionic."
• "I can shave without decapitating myself."

While not about precisely the same device, both types of Neural Prosthesis have been undergoing trials for the same classes of disorders for quite some time—see the 2000 WABC-TV (NY) piece: "Shocking the Brain." Tuesday's approval was not without controversy, but the panel voted 5 to 2 in favor of permitting many more patients to try it, with certain conditions. It seems worth noting that "worrie[s] that the device could also be the forerunner of political behavior modification that could effect populations" (reported in the the Investors.com story) did not appear to have been among the issues the FDA addressed.