[meteorite-list] [Fwd: top1 Look Ma, No Hands]

From: Walter Sullivan <wsulliva_at_meteoritecentral.com>
Date: Thu Apr 22 10:02:31 2004
Message-ID: <3C989F9E.5060800_at_ix.netcom.com>

http://www.scientificamerican.com/news/031402/2.html

Direct from brain to computer done using rhesus monkeys.

NEUROSCIENCE
Implant Enables Thought to Control Computer Cursor

Giving a new twist to the phrase wishful thinking, scientists have
demonstrated that thoughts alone can enable action. According to a report
published today in the journal Nature, a tiny array of electrodes that
records, interprets and reconstructs the activity involved in hand motion
can harness brain power to control an onscreen cursor.

John Donoghue of Brown University and colleagues tested the system on three
rhesus monkeys trained to track a moving image on a video screen using hand
movements and a joystick. Implanted electrodes recorded activity in the
motor cortex regions of the animals' brains while they performed the task.
As the monkeys repeatedly moved the cursor, the scientists developed a
series of mathematical formulas that related the firing of neurons to the
cursor's position. When the researchers removed the input from the hand
console and replaced it with a signal calculated from the implant, the
animals continued to successfully track their target. "We substituted
thought control for hand control," Donoghue notes, adding that input from as
few as six neurons was sufficient for success.

Though not yet approved for human use, this so-called instant-control brain
cursor technique may one day form the basis of systems aimed at facilitating
communications for paralyzed people. "This implant is potentially one that
is very suitable for humans," study co-author Mijail D. Serruya says. "It
shows enough promise that it could ultimately be hooked up via a computer to
a paralyzed patient to restore that individual's interaction with the
environment." --Sarah Graham

RELATED LINKS:

The Coming Merging of Mind and Machine

>From Point A to Theta
Received on Wed 20 Mar 2002 09:41:34 AM PST