How, today, an Oxford institute is considering the medical science of tomorrow

Imagine a world where we can all pop pills to make us super-intelligent, and through technology we can use our brains to directly control our computers, drive our cars or speak telepathically with each other.

Of course, this all sounds like science fiction, but the Institute for the Future of the Mind, part of the James Martin 21st Century School at Oxford University, is looking at how technology is turning these flights of fancy into science fact. The critical issue is not whether, but how, such new experiences will transform the human mind.

Technologies that reach further into the brain are already having a significant impact on the lives of some people.

In a technique researched and put into practice here in Oxford by Professors John Stein and Tipu Aziz, an electrode is inserted through the top of the skull and is passes through the brain until it reaches a particular region close to the base of the brain. This electrode then provides electrical stimulation (through a battery pack and a controller placed on the patient's chest) which can relieve the symptoms of Parkinson's Disease. The improvement in the quality of life of these patients can be very dramatic as the uncontrolled movements caused by the disease subside when the electrode is switched on. Without the so-called deep-brain stimulation, the patients may have found it difficult to walk, to talk and to use their hands for even basic functions such as eating. With the implanted electrode, the control over their movements is restored.

Recent results from the US show that deep-brain stimulation can be used on a different part of the brain and successfully treat particular patients suffering with depression that would not be respond to any drugs. This advance could represent a significant milestone in the treatment of depression. As with many technologies that emerge to treat a disease or disorder, we can see how even deep-brain stimulation could become a lifestyle product. If it continues to be successful it may be used on a wider group of patients suffering from depression. This use of deep-brain stimulation might go so far as to include nursing mothers suffering from postnatal depression, or sufferers of premenstrual syndrome.

A market may emerge for a device that can be used by anyone for general mood enhancement without any clear clinical rationale.

This scenario may seem far-fetched, and there's no indication that deep-brain stimulation would help enhance the mood of 'normal' people, but it is not without precedent. Plastic surgery was developed to help people with disfigurement caused by accident or disease but this has become a lifestyle product.

In the brain sciences, we hear reports from the US of undergraduates buying black market Alzheimer's Disease drugs with the (probably mistaken) view that these memory-enhancing drugs will help them with revision.

Closer to home, a Home Office minister recently said of Ritalin, the drug used to treat Attention Deficit and Hyperactivity Disorder that "the Government is aware of anecdotal evidence of a black market and misuse, particularly by young people." Rather ducking the issue by saying that the "inappropriate use of Ritalin, including sharing or selling, in a school setting should be dealt with in line with school drug policy".

As we harness new technologies that interact with our brains to change the way that we think and behave, we have the opportunity to maximise the potential of every individual. Perhaps more than with any other technology, we need to consider carefully about what we want from the brain sciences. We will need to carefully think about how making better brains might change the very nature of who we are.

This article was written by Martin Westwell. Science Matters is co-ordinated by The Oxford Trust.