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Mind Control Summary
Matt Nagle is a C4 quadriplegic, which means he is paralyzed from the neck down. He has been this way since he was stabbed in the neck with an eight-inch blade, severing his spinal cord. He now moves using a motorized wheelchair controlled by a sip-and-puff tube. But he can play Pong, draw with a cursor, operate a TV, and check his email even though he is paralyazed. And he can do it using only his mind. He can accomplish this with a BrainGate BCI (brain-computer interface). It is an implant in his brain that reads his neuron firings and translates them into movement. The BrainGate is produced by a company called CyberKinetics in Foxboro, Massechusetts. It has a $25 millon grant from the U.S. Department of Defense. They apparently hope to be able to create robotic warriors that are controlled by soldiers from miles away. The long-term effects of this implant is uncertain. Nagle is the first human subject that this BCI has been tested on. Previously, it had only been tested on monkeys. Other BCIs have been created that are not implanted directly in the brain, but they are not as sensitive. Nagle can also move a prosthetic hand with his mind. He believes that the BCI might be the cure for his paralysis. Eventually, BCIs might be able to return movement to paralyzed people and proper brain functions to Alzheimer's patients and other mentally-handicapped people.
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