jmke

No... It's not the plot of a terrible science fiction movie. Four volunteers were able to control a video game with thought using electrodes placed on the surface of the brain. U.S. researchers said the volunteers played the game by thinking the word "move." A neurosurgeon at Barnes-Jewish Hospital in St. Louis who worked on the study told Reuters their work is aimed at finding ways to help people control computers or machines using brainpower alone. People paralyzed by disease or accidents could use such devices to write and even move around. The doctor said they tested four patients with epilepsy. An assistant professor of biomedical engineering at Washington University in St. Louis said the patients learned in minutes how to control a computer cursor. One patient hit 33 targets in a row. Patients were forced to stay in bed tethered to a computer for up to two weeks. Those involved in the study hope to develop electrodes that can transmit signals without physical connections. They positioned about 32 electrodes over the sensory motor cortex of the brain and a region called Broca's area (which is associated with speech).

http://avault.com/news/displaynews.a...=6162004-75648

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