Mind Games

Four epilepsy patients at Washington University can now play videogames on brain power alone. Bioengineers at the university implanted the patients with an electrocorticographic (ECoG) "grid" that collects signals from the surface of the brain. While it's clearly more invasive than using EEG electrodes taped to the head, ECoG is also far easier to use. Eventually the technology could lead toward bionic prosthetics for disabled people. From Washington University's press release:

"(After surgery, the patients were asked) to do various motor and speech tasks, moving their hands various ways, talking, and imagining. The team could see from the data which parts of the brain correlate to these movements. They then asked the patients to play a simple, one-dimensional computer game involving moving a cursor up or down towards one of two targets. They were asked to imagine various movements or imagine saying the word 'move,' but not to actually perform them with their hands or speak any words by mouth. When they saw the cursor in the video game, they then controlled it with their brains.

'We closed the loop,' said (professor Daniel) Moran. 'After a brief training session, the patients could play the game by using signals that come off the surface of the brain. They achieved between 74 and 100 percent accuracy, with one patient hitting 33 out of 33 targets correctly in a row.'"

I'm sure the military would love to play too. Link