Monkey Mindlink?

[liquid_sky]

Monkey Moves Computer Cursor by Thoughts Alone

By E.J. Mundell

 

NEW YORK (Reuters Health) - It may seem like science fiction, but

scientists say they have developed a technology that enables a monkey to

move a cursor on a computer screen simply by thinking about it.

 

The breakthrough could someday help totally paralyzed, ''locked-in''

patients ``operate external devices such as a robot arm, or a computer

to surf the Internet,'' explained researcher Daniella Meeker of the

California Institute of Technology in Pasadena.

 

Meeker described her team's findings at a recent meeting of the Society

for Neuroscience.

 

Their work focuses on a section of the primate brain known as the

posterior parietal cortex. Using high-tech brain scans, the researchers

determined that small clumps of cells in this region--as few as 16--were

active in the formation of the desire to carry out specific body

movements.

 

Armed with this knowledge, Meeker's group implanted sensitive electrodes

in the posterior parietal cortex of a rhesus monkey trained to play a

simple video game. The monkey's brain was first analyzed on high-tech

MRI as it used its hand to touch dots on a touch-sensitive computer

screen.

 

``After the monkey has done this task several times, we are able to

determine, for the particular neuron, the different patterns of

electrical activity when he is planning reaches in different

directions,'' Meeker said.

 

Going one step further, her team then trained the monkey to simply think

about a movement, without reaching out and touching the screen. A

computer program, hooked up to the implanted electrodes, interpreted the

monkey's thoughts by tracking flare-ups of brain cell activity. The

computer then moved a cursor on the computer screen in accordance with

the monkey's desires--left or right, up or down, wherever ``the

electrical (brain) pattern tells us the monkey is planning to reach,''

according to Meeker.

 

``In fact,'' she said, ``we found that he became quite reluctant to move

his arm to the reach command once the cursor was introduced into the

game. Apparently it was easier just to think about reaching.''

 

Speaking with Reuters Health, Meeker said her group's work differs from

previous research in that it seeks to replicate the brain-motor

connection ``at the level of the first inclination to make a movement.''

 

She added, ``This supposes that much of the downstream function--which

would be normally implemented by the rest of the brain, the spinal cord

and muscles--can be relegated to intelligent machines.''

 

Giving completely paralyzed patients full mental control of robotic

limbs or communication devices has long been a dream of those working to

free such individuals from their locked-in state.

 

``These patients are completely paralyzed and cannot speak, yet they are

fully conscious and aware,'' Meeker said. Brainstem strokes, injury to

the upper spinal cord or diseases such as ALS (Lou Gehrig's disease

(news - web sites)) condemn tens of thousands of patients to such an

existence.

 

``Restoring even the most rudimentary communication or motor function to

such patients will drastically improve their quality of life,'' she

said.

 

Of course, roadblocks remain and the technology remains crude. Still,

Meeker said her group ``can achieve over 90% accuracy'' in carrying out

the simple commands the monkey has been trained to perform so far. A

technology that could replicate more complex movements--such as

handwriting a letter or playing games with a robot arm--could still be

years or decades away.

 

Even more challenging are ``Terminator''-type applications that would

allow the minds of healthy individuals to meld with machines--allowing

drivers to ``think'' their way through traffic, for example, or granting

pilots the ability to navigate the skies with their mind.

 

``The largest difficulty that I see with this kind of sci-fi application

is the current risk that brain surgery presents,'' Meeker said. ``This

kind of technology could save the life of a locked-in patient, but has

the potential to kill a healthy pilot if something went wrong.''

 

However, several groups are currently working to develop methods of

tracking brain signals without the use of surgically implanted

electrodes. Such a breakthrough could lay these types of safety concerns

to rest and ``revolutionize'' the field, Meeker said.

[The Night Phantom]

The most fundamental difference between this new technology and the MindLink is that the new technology was tested on a monkey, whereas the MindLink was apparently being produced by a whole troupe of them.

[mos6507]

Mindlink measured skin resistance and fed it to the paddle lines. It was still measuring actual physical movement, however slight.

 

This is closer to the mind-control of Firefox, although in that movie it seemed more like voice recognition.