Neuroscientists have taken another step towards increasing the functional capabilies of people who have been paralysed.

Surgeons at New England Sinai Hospital, Massachusetts, USA, implanted almost 100 electrodes into the motor cortex of the brain of a man who is paralysed from the neck down. The electrodes are connected to a computer, which interprets activation in this area of the brain and translates it into 'action', thereby controlling everyday objects. The technology enables Matthew Nagle to turn a television on and off, switch channels and increase or decrease the volume, play video games and even check emails.

Professor John Donoghue, the neuroscientist responsible for the device, known as 'BrainGate', said, “Eventually, we want him to be able to use it to control the lights, his phone and other devices” (The Guardian, 31 March 2005).

Mr Nagle is already able to exert some control over a prosthetic hand and arm, opening and closing the hand and moving the arm to take sweets from one person's hand and transfer them to the hand of another.

Professor Donoghue hopes that similar implants might one day allow people with paralysis to regain limb function, telling BusinessWeek Online (15 March 2005), “Our goal is for you to see paralyzed people eating at a restaurant and for you not to know that they are paralyzed.”

Dr Richard Apps, a neurophysiologist at Bristol University, UK, commented, “It's quite remarkable. They have taken research to the next stage to have a clear benefit for a patient that otherwise would not be able to move” (BBC News Online, 31 March 2005). He added, “Just to be able to grasp an object is a major step forward” (BBC News Online).