Brainأ¢â‚¬â€œmachine does the two-step

Brainأ¢â‚¬â€œmachine interfaces (BMIs) detect and use brain activity to perform an intended task, and could be invaluable to people with paralysis. Typically, BMIs are able to process only single movements, but one developed by Ziv Williams at Harvard Medical School in Boston, Massachusetts, and his colleagues can control a series of motions أ¢â‚¬â€‌ potentially expanding the complexity of tasks that BMIs can perform.

The team recorded brain activity in monkeys that were trained to move a computer cursor with their paws to each of two areas on a screen in a particular order. This revealed activity in two distinct groups of neurons in the brain's premotor cortex that was associated with each of the upcoming movements. The authors then programmed a computer to decode this signal from the brain and found that the mind-controlled computer moved the cursor at about the same speed that the monkeys achieved with their paws.