After scientists have successfully made monkeys control a mechanical arm using brain probes now the research goes even further and makes the paralysis a monkey had in an arm disappear. The experiment is considered a big breakthrough, but as science has the habit of locking more doors after some are unlocked, scientists say there is a lot more work to be done before this technique can be applied to cure paralysis in humans. The experiment consisted in wiring a neuron in the brain to one in the paralyzed arm muscle and by triggering specific firing patterns the two neurons would communicate and so curing the paralysis.

Firstly, the scientists caused the paralysis in the nerves leading to the monkey’s arm, after which they wired the two neurons together to get the spectacular result. The computer detected a specific firing pattern in the brain which was used to trigger the neuron in the arm muscle. Scientists used a simple video game in order to be sure that the monkey was in full control of its arm. The game consisted with a screen on which there was a cursor that when placed in a certain place will reward the monkey. This proved to the researchers that the monkey was in fact aware of its arm and that it didn’t move it hectically.

Scientist learned that they could use any neuron in the brain to control the paralyzed arm, even neurons that had nothing to do with moving the wrist before the paralysis. With this breakthrough comes another big intellectual halt. The single neuron approach makes scientists wonder how primates’ nervous system really works, as until now it was believed that moving any certain muscle in the body required a coordinated pattern of multiple neurons.