Monkeys could be the key to helping paralysis victims, according to a team of scientists at Brown University. The team conducted a study which will appear in the journal Nature tomorrow involving an electrode implanted in brains of monkeys. The electrode let the primates control a computer cursor with their minds, a step researchers say may lead to devices that paralysis victims can use.
The three monkeys hit a target on a computer screen using their brains almost as fast as when they used their hands. The experiment is an early, important step toward implants
and technology for people suffering from spinal injuries or
degenerative neurological diseases, the team said.
The device “would work for anything you can do or you can
imagine doing by pointing and clicking,” said John Donoghue,
chairman of Brown’s neuroscience department.
Researchers studied how a monkey’s brain nerve cells fired as
the animal manipulated a cursor with a computer mouse. Then they
developed mathematical models to link specific neural firing
patterns to where the cursor was moved.
In the experiment, the Rhesus monkeys played a pinball-type
video game using a hand-control set. The researchers then
disconnected the set so that the signals directing the game came
from the animals’ brains.
The work was funded in part by the U.S. National Institutes
of Health, the U.S. Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency and
the Burroughs Welcome Foundation. Donoghue and other researchers
have formed closely held Cyberkinetics to develop the technology
for use in humans.
Bloomberg News
Seifert Systems Invests in Energy Efficiency to Strengthen Operations
For manufacturers, energy is more than just another operating expense. It plays a critical role…
Learn More
