Brain-to-Brain Interfaces: When Reality Meets Science Fiction

Every memory that we have, act that we perform, and feeling that we experience creates brainstorms—interactions of millions of cells that produce electrical signals. Neuroscientists are now able to record those signals, extract the kind of motor commands that the brain is about to produce, and communicate the commands to machines that can understand them and facilitate movement in the human body. Research in this area has the potential to help paraplegics and others suffering from spinal-cord injuries to control machines with their thoughts and to bolster their ability to get around.