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Brain implants that let you speak your mind

A brain–computer interface device synthesizes speech using the neural signals that control lip, tongue, larynx and jaw movements, and could be a stepping stone to restoring speech function in individuals unable to speak.
  1. Chethan Pandarinath

    1. Chethan Pandarinath is in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA; and in the Department of Neurosurgery and at the Emory Neuromodulation and Technology Innovation Center, Emory University.

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  2. Yahia H. Ali

    1. Yahia H. Ali is in the Wallace H. Coulter Department of Biomedical Engineering, Emory University and Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, Georgia 30322, USA.

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Speaking might seem an effortless activity, but it is one of the most complex actions that we perform. It requires precise, dynamic coordination of muscles in the articulator structures of the vocal tract — the lips, tongue, larynx and jaw. When speech is disrupted as a consequence of stroke, amyotrophic lateral sclerosis or other neurological disorders, loss of the ability to communicate can be devastating. In a paper in Nature, Anumanchipalli et al.1 bring us closer to a brain–computer interface (BCI) that can restore speech function.

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Nature 568, 466-467 (2019)

doi: https://doi.org/10.1038/d41586-019-01181-y

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