 |
 |
Anne Rutherford wrote: > > I just heard Bakay and it sounds possible ... infact it sounds quite > sensible. Bakay was interviewed onCanadian radio tonight on > 'as it happens' > on CBC 1. At Emory are training a patient to > move a cursor to point at an icon and with much practice he can do it > He has electrodes implanted in the most active spots in the motor > cortex which transmit the signal the brain makes > ------Now > he is trying to learn to select letters of the alphabet and thus type > his name he has the same problem I have --being sloww to move the cursor > hee gets double > lletters. > do i believe it honestly I don't know It seems to be true and not a hoax, but still astounding. I've heard about biofeedback, where people can learn to control normally autonomic functions such as pulse rate or blood pressure, and research with amputees that permits them to deliver a nerve signal to a prosthesis. And ther has been related work in crude restoration of lost sensory function such as sight or hearing. But Bakay's project is enormously more complex- even the relatively simple task of moving and 'clicking' a screen cursor must involve several distinct kinds of signal, and I would have expected a separate electrode for each one, otherwise how do you tell them apart. Can't wait to see what's next. Joe -- J. R. Bruman (818) 789-3694 3527 Cody Road Sherman Oaks, CA 91403-5013