Scientists using brain electrode implants managed to get lab monkeys to use their paralysed hands to pick up a ball, an encouraging result for people with spinal injuries, they said on Wednesday. Monkeys with electrodes implanted in their brains and arms were able to grasp and move the ball despite having had their hand anaesthetised.
The implants allowed the brain to communicate directly with muscle, thus bypassing the spinal cord. "This connection from brain to muscles might someday be used to help patients paralysed due to spinal cord injury perform activities of daily living and achieve greater independence," said researcher Lee Miller from Chicago's North-western University.
The monkeys in the test were trained to pick up a ball and deposit it into a tube in exchange for a reward, and had electrodes implanted into their brains and arms.