Four people were able to control a computer using their thoughts and an electrode-studded "thinking cap," U.S. researchers reported on Monday.
They said their set-up could someday be adapted to help disabled people operate a motorized wheelchair or artificial limb.
While experiments have allowed a monkey to control a computer with its thoughts, electrodes were implanted into the animal’s brain. This experiment, reported in the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, required no surgery and no implants.
"The results show that people can learn to use scalp-recorded electroencephalogram rhythms to control rapid and accurate movement of a cursor in two dimensions," Jonathan Wolpaw and Dennis McFarland of the New York State Department of Health and State University of New York in Albany wrote.
They tested their device on four people -- two partly paralyzed men who used wheelchairs and a healthy man and woman.
The key was a special computer algorithm -- a program that translated the brain signals into a meaningful directive of what the users wanted the computer to do.
"The impressive noninvasive multidimensional control achieved in the present study suggests that a noninvasive brain control interface could support clinically useful operation of a robotic arm, a motorized wheelchair, or a neuroprosthesis," the researchers wrote.
The two disabled men were better at the task, the researchers found. This could have to do with stronger motivation or perhaps a brain forced to be more adaptable to cope with the injuries that left the men disabled, the researchers said.
美国日前公布了的一项试验研究成果：4个试验者戴上布满电极的“思考帽子”后，可以运用他们的思想来直接控制电脑。
据路透社12月6日报道，当日参与这项试验的研究人员对外发布了这项试验结果。他们说，试验中的这种装置日后将会投入应用，以帮助残疾人驾驶机动轮椅和操纵假肢。
报道说，研究人员对两位使用轮椅的局部残疾人和两位健康人进行了试验，这4个人都是志愿参与试验的。研究人员让这4个人头戴含64个电极的帽子坐在一个电视屏幕前，电极帽子将记录下他们大脑的活动。研究人员发现，两位残疾人对试验的反应要好于两位健康人，这可能是由于残疾人有更强烈的完成试验的愿望，或者由于他们的大脑已经习惯于去应付自身的残疾，因而更为敏感。
参与这项研究的纽约州立大学的丹尼斯·麦克法兰和纽约州政府卫生部的乔纳森·沃尔波在研究报告中说：“试验结果表明，人们能通过头皮记录的脑电图来同时控制电脑光标的速度和光标的准确移动。”他们解释说，这个试验的关键在于一个特殊的电脑运算法则，也就是一个电脑程序。这个程序能将人大脑发出的信号翻译成有实际意义的指令，这个指令会要求电脑去完成人们所希望它做的事情。
在此之前，早已有研究人员做过试验：通过在猴脑里植入的电极而让猴子操纵电脑。但是，现在进行的这项试验却不需要任何手术，也不需要在大脑里植入任何东西。这项研究成果发表在最新一期的《美国国家科学院院刊》上。
