Skipping the Spinal Cord (VIDEO)
Caption
The goal of brain-computer interfaces is to control muscles directly from the brain's cortex, skipping the intervening spinal cord. In this movie each yellow line represents the instantaneous firing rate of a neuron in the motor cortex. The yellow spikes morph as the man moves because each neuron is tuned to a different direction in space. If the vectors from all of the neurons are added together (yellow arrow), they predict the arm's next movement (blue arrow).
Credit
Daniel Moran
Usage Restrictions
Please contact Daniel Moran at dmoran@wustl.edu and ask for permission
License
Licensed content