October 13, 2003

How to read a monkey's mind  

The Washington Post has a fascinating article about new brain implants that allow the monkeys to control robotic arms with their thoughts. Implants that interface with the brain directly are not new - one of my professors at IU was at the forefront of cochlear implant development. But those devices are generally geared toward converting artificial sensory input, and are limited in that they must be introduced during the critical period when neuronal organization related is taking place. This is because the electronic signals produced by the implants are unrelated to those a human ear would produce, so the brain must learn how to interpret them.

With the monkeys, the interface actually reads electrical activity in the brain, and a computer learns to interpret the signals in terms of the relevant motor functions, so the critical period doesn't matter. Combine the two approaches, and you can create an incredibly lifelike prosthesis, be it an arm, a leg, an eye, or whatever bionic device your imagination can dream up.

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