Are brain implants the future of thinking?

The BrainGate programme is a long-running multi-institution research effort in the US to develop and test novel neurotechnology aimed at restoring communication, mobility and independence in people whose minds are fine but who have lost bodily connection due to paralysis, limb loss or neurodegenerative disease.

Dennis Degray, 66, has been paralysed from the collarbones down since an unlucky fall over a decade ago. He was able to send the message because in 2016 he had two tiny squares of silicon with protruding metal electrodes surgically implanted in his motor cortex, the part of the brain that controls movement. These record the activity in his neurons for translation into external action. By imagining moving a joystick with his hand, he is able to move a cursor to select letters on a screen. With the power of his mind, he has also bought products on Amazon and moved a robotic arm to stack blocks.

Read more at The Guardian