Play games with thoughts

British scientists teach monkeys control the arms of a computer-literate character by their minds, a scientific breakthrough that can be useful to the disabled.

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Two rhesus monkeys participated in the experiment. (Photo: REX)

Telegraph said scientists from the Duke University Neuroscience Center in England trained two rhesus monkeys to engage in video games by thought. Two monkeys' brainwashing is used to control the virtual arms of a monkey on a computer screen. They do not have to move any part of the body during the virtual arm control.

Experts ask the monkeys to use the virtual arm to explore the surface of three virtual objects of the same shape but with different faces. They then have to look for an object with a specific surface texture among the three objects. Monkeys are rewarded with fruit juice if they find the right virtual objects that the research team requires. The results show that they find the exact object that the team wants.

This is the first time that scientists have seen the brain control a virtual arm to discover an object. Brain electrical impulses help the monkey determine the surface texture of objects that the virtual arm touches.

"The interaction between the brain and the virtual character is completely independent of the monkeys' bodies, because they do not move their legs, hands or skin to touch objects and feel the texture ," said Migue. Says Nicolelis, director of the Duke University Center for Neurology.

The team hopes their results could pave the way for the emergence of an out-of-body skeleton for the disabled. They can use that skeleton to feel the world around by brain waves.

'In the next few years, people with quadriplegia can utilize our technology to move their arms, legs and step with the support of the outer skeleton. Thanks to them, they can also feel the texture of the objects in their hands, the terrain of the places they go through , "Nicolelis said.

This is the first time that scientists have seen the brain control a virtual arm to discover an object. Brain electrical impulses help the monkey determine the surface texture of objects that the virtual arm touches.