Researchers at the University of Washington in Seattle have published a report via the online edition of „Nature” on Wednesday, revealing that brain signals might be used in overcoming paralysis.

A team of scientists have monitored brain activity in several monkeys that had been previously taught to play a computer game, using an experimental device to electrically stimulate muscles in order to help them overcome wrist paralysis that had been induced with the help of an anesthetic.

Results showed that by controlling the activity of only one brain cell, the monkeys were able to regain full use of their wrist muscles.

Dr Chet Moritz, along with her colleagues, used a brain-machine interface to re-route brain signals directly to the monkeys’ limbs, thus allowing the muscles to regain the electrical stimulation they needed to contract.

The study marks an important step towards achieving, though probably decades from now, limb activity in paralysed people by artificially transferring the will to move from the brain to the muscles themselves.

For the future, researchers hope to develop implantable circuits for humans, the report stated.

Spinal cord injuries prevent the nerve signals from going from the brain to the muscles, even though both the paralysed limbs’ muscles and the motor cortex (the part of the brain that controls movement) remain unimpaired.

The study falls into the category of functional electrical stimulation (FES), which entails using electrical impulses in order to stimulate muscles. FES devices are currently enabling partially paralysed people to stand, walk or use their arms and hands, via a switch with which the device is fitted.