Cognition, Creativity, and Communication: The Future of BCI

Interest in brain-computer interface technology is moving beyond motor decoding and simple device control toward a broader goal: modulating and restoring complex human cognition and communication. This session will examine how neuromodulation and BCI science are beginning to engage higher-order domains such as cognitive control, internally directed creative thought, and complex communication, while also confronting the ethical and translational questions that arise when devices interact with identity-relevant brain functions. The session will bring together complementary perspectives from four leaders working across this emerging space. Sameer Sheth will frame the field through the lens of personalized neuromodulation for psychiatric disorders and intracranial neurophysiological studies of language architecture. Ben Shofty will discuss recent work linking large-scale default mode network dynamics and causal stimulation to creative thinking, highlighting how network neuroscience may inform future cognitive BCI targets. Ishita Basu will focus on computational and closed-loop neuromodulation approaches for decoding and modulating cognitive control. Kristin Kostick-Quenet will address the neuroethical implications of devices designed to sense, decode, and potentially alter complex mental states, including questions of agency, enhancement, privacy, trust, and responsible clinical translation. By integrating mechanistic science, engineering, clinical translation, and ethics, this session will offer attendees a forward-looking roadmap for how BCI may evolve from treating symptoms to engaging cognition itself.