From DailyTech

...Could help paralyzed individuals control prosthetic limbs and communicate

Touchpad technology has become a way of life for many who use laptops and other devices with this capability, but a new study led by a University of California researcher may replace the touchpad with "thoughtpad" technology.

The study was led by Itzhak Fried, M.D., Ph.D., a professor of neurosurgery at the University of California, Los Angeles, and was funded by the National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS), and the National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH). This research found that humans can control complex visual images with their mind on a computer screen.

This type of research was based on the development of brain-computer interfaces (BCIs), which allow humans to manipulate computers with their thoughts. In this particular study, the participants were 12 people with epilepsy because they already had fine wires implanted in their brains. These wires are used to record seizure activity, but for the sake of this study, Itzhak and his team inserted the wires into the medial temporal lobe, which is a region of the brain responsible for memory and recognition of complex images.

[More...] [Comments...]