Brain signals move paralyzed limbs in new experiment

To help people suffering paralysis from injury, stroke or disease, scientists have invented brain-machine interfaces that record electrical signals of neurons in the brain and translate them to movement. Usually, that means the neural signals direct a device, like a robotic arm.

Cornell University researcher Maryam Shanechi, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering, working with Ziv Williams, assistant professor of neurosurgery at Harvard Medical School, is bringing brain-machine interfaces to the next level: Instead of signals directing a device, she hopes to help paralyzed people move their own limb, just by thinking about it.

When paralyzed patients imagine or plan a movement, neurons in the brain's motor cortical areas still activate even though the communication link between the brain and muscles is broken. By implanting sensors in these brain areas, neural activity can be recorded and translated to the patient's desired movement using a mathematical transform called the decoder. These interfaces allow patients to generate movements directly with their thoughts.

In a paper published online Feb. 18 in Nature Communications, Shanechi, Williams and colleagues describe a cortical-spinal prosthesis that directs "targeted movement" in paralyzed limbs. The research team developed and tested a prosthesis that connects two subjects by enabling one subject to send its recorded neural activity to control limb movements in a different subject that is temporarily sedated. The demonstration is a step forward in making brain-machine interfaces for paralyzed humans to control their own limbs using their brain activity alone.