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Thinking Monkeys Move Cursors Mirror and Motor Neurons
Thinking Monkeys Move Cursors Reuters has an interesting news item about monkeys and motor control entitled Monkey Moves Computer Cursor by Thoughts Alone. Essentially, the mirror neurons are identified in the monkey by training it to perform a task. Electrodes are placed at the location, and the monkey is trained to think about moving (thereby still triggering the mirror neurons). The monkey can control the cursor without too many problems, and it seems he finds it easier than actually moving physically! This is another small step for neuro-science, but there's still a long way to go. Notably, the problem of refining the system to much finer movement -- detecting the activity of specific neurons is still a long way off. Also, the brain will have trouble performing much more complex tasks without any sensory feedback... that should be the next step. The applications of this technology are quite enticing, ranging from wheelchair control, to web-browsing. By keeping things simple of course, it should be possible to control them. Artificial Intelligence could then come to the rescue by inferring the desires of the person in control. | Alex J. Champandard 934 posts. Monday 04 February, 13:19 Reply