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Brain Implants Help Paralyzed Monkeys Get a Grip

Posted by samzenpus on from the wired-reflexes dept.

sciencehabit writes "Spinal cord injuries cause paralysis because they sever crucial communication links between the brain and the muscles that move limbs. A new study with monkeys demonstrates a way to re-establish those connections. By implanting electrodes in a movement control center in the brain and wiring them up to electrodes attached to muscles in the arm, researchers restored movement to monkeys with a temporarily paralyzed hand. The work is the latest promising development in the burgeoning field of neuroprosthetics."

54 comments

  1. I propose by busyqth · · Score: 5, Funny

    I think it would be a more interesting experiment to implant electrodes in one person's brain and wire them up to electrodes in another person's arm.

    1. Re:I propose by geekoid · · Score: 1

      This^

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      Ever seen the movie "Gamer"?

    3. Re:I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I propose we investigate who would win in a fight between these monkeys and their cyborg brethren.

      It may seem gratuitous, but think of how this could benefit all the disabled people who in the future will face the tough decision of whether to fight off the encroaching zombie hordes with a biological arm from the flesh vats, or with a prosthetic chainsaw.

    4. Re:I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      That would be one incredibly frustrating game of "Why are you hitting yourself?"

    5. Re:I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 2, Funny

      I see busyqth's experiment was a success!

    6. Re:I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it would be a more interesting experiment to implant electrodes in one person's brain and wire them up to electrodes in another person's arm.

      Can anyone say Dutch Rudder 2.0?

    7. Re:I propose by dudpixel · · Score: 0

      I lol'd - that made my day. :)

      --
      This seemed like a reasonable sig at the time.
    8. Re:I propose by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      I think it would be a more interesting experiment to implant electrodes in one person's brain and wire them up to electrodes in another person's arm.

      Would that feel like "someone else is doing it" then? Hm..

    9. Re:I propose by RemyBR · · Score: 1

      And I propose we investigate who'd win a fight between two men whose arms (and legs, maybe) were wired up to implants in eachother's brains.

      --
      Cosplayers.net - The Cosplayers Network
  2. Younger Brothers Revenge by enickel · · Score: 1

    Imagining the hacking opportunities already: “Quit hitting yourself, Quit hitting yourself”

    1. Re:Younger Brothers Revenge by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 1

      In an amazing turnaround, computer geeks get to bully the muscleheads now!

  3. Great news. by gstrickler · · Score: 2

    Does it work for politicians too? Most of them need to get a grip, and need a brain implant or transplant.

    --
    make imaginary.friends COUNT=100 VISIBLE=false
    1. Re:Great news. by rainmouse · · Score: 4, Funny

      Does it work for politicians too? Most of them need to get a grip, and need a brain implant or transplant.

      Considering it likely the doctors had to first paralyse a large quantity of monkeys, it would be nice if the experiment could be recreated using politicians.

    2. Re:Great news. by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      It woudn't work, you have to have a brain to have anything implanted in it.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  4. me is a monkye, i can cofirm it wroks by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Funny

    geave bannana me

  5. The researchers soon regretted their actions by Algae_94 · · Score: 4, Funny

    The monkeys were immediately able to fling shit at them once they regained movement in their hands.

    1. Re:The researchers soon regretted their actions by Nidi62 · · Score: 1

      Just hope they weren't also infected. The last thing we need is cyborg Rage monkeys.

      --
      The only thing necessary for evil to triumph is for it to be pitted against a slightly greater evil
    2. Re:The researchers soon regretted their actions by mcgrew · · Score: 1

      Cyborg rage? Is that a reference to a SF work? Because I'm a cyborg. And you'll probably be assimilated too once your natrual stuff starts failing.

      --
      Free Martian Whores!
  6. that movie could of been done better by Joe_Dragon · · Score: 1

    that movie could of been done better and with out the Society part and with a more of a cover up feel as in there was to be no way that they will let him go free.

  7. Pretty soon he'll be flinging poo by Ranger · · Score: 1, Redundant

    with the best of them.

    --
    "You'll get nothing, and you'll like it!"
  8. neal stephenson's book, interface by lkcl · · Score: 1

    wasn't this basically the premise of "Interface"? when are we gonna get a radio-controlled president? oh wait - that was george bush. how did that work out?

  9. Only Works on Male Monkeys by xstonedogx · · Score: 3, Funny

    A pair of implants could inspire me to move my hands again too.

    1. Re:Only Works on Male Monkeys by stms · · Score: 1

      I thought that's what this article was about rehabilitating masterbating monkeys. What else do monkeys need to grip besides uhm... limbs and shit... and shit.

  10. Hacked monkey scifi script? by AHuxley · · Score: 1

    Well, he's not functioning the way he normally does. He seems depressed. He's lost his appetite.
    He's even curtailed his autoerotic activities.
    And we think this is directly related to the laptop with you the other day.
    So, so what do you want me to do?
    Well, frankly we'd like you to run some AV.
    Yeah, well he hacked me.
    Mr. K, he is an innocent primate.

    --
    Domestic spying is now "Benign Information Gathering"
  11. They probably caused the monkey to be paralized by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    I've seen video where they strap a monkey down then a machine repeatedly cracks their skull so that the scientists can study brain injury. No animal deserves what scientists do to them. If you don't agree, volunteer your family dog to have it's head cracked open, or to have half the skin burned off it's body with a blow torch to study burn treatments.

    1. Re:They probably caused the monkey to be paralized by EdIII · · Score: 1

      Uhhhh.... probably?

      I think so. Otherwise, it would be a pretty long wait to find the right paralyzed monkeys for your study.

    2. Re:They probably caused the monkey to be paralized by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Yes temporally paralysed ie. will recover afterwards. Nowadays the experiment you describe would almost certainly be illegal, at most you could normally do such things to mice, and then only with a very good reason. The regulations for experimenting on animals are a lot tighter than they used to be and primates are the most heavily regulated of all, so do not use the worst excesses of the past to argue against the present. Of course some things which are just as cruel still get done, but only when human lives are on the line and only when there are not other alternatives. Unless you want to argue that people are less morally valuable than animals you can not argue that such things are never necessary only call for limitations to prevent pointless suffering.

    3. Re:They probably caused the monkey to be paralized by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Horrible things still go on, like US military training doctors. In this video doctors break and cut off the limbs of live goats with tree trimmers, stab the animals, and pull out their internal organs. Later the goats were shot in the face with pistols and were hacked apart with an ax while still alive.

      https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4087

      I would rather die than have these animals go through that to find ways to save my life. Yes I do argue that we don't have the right to do that to animals, and to back that up I am a vegan.

    4. Re:They probably caused the monkey to be paralized by triffid_98 · · Score: 1

      https://secure.peta.org/site/Advocacy?cmd=display&page=UserAction&id=4087

      I would rather die than have these animals go through that to find ways to save my life. Yes I do argue that we don't have the right to do that to animals, and to back that up I am a vegan.

      That's excellent news. By using PETA members in early stage clinical trials we can accelerate our research substantially.

      Would you prefer to test the anti-aging drug Rapamycin, the cancer immunotherapy drug VSV-GFP, or this new one I keep seeing in my in-box that enlarges your p*nis?

  12. Skullcrusher Mountain by Petersko · · Score: 1

    "I made this half-pony, half-monkey monster to please you
    But I get the feeling that you don't like it, what's with all the screaming?
    You like monkeys, you like ponies, maybe you don't like monsters so much
    Maybe I used too many monkeys
    Isn't it enough to know that I ruined a pony making a gift for you?""

    - Jonathan Coulton, Skullcrusher Mountain

  13. I've posted this before, but since it is so crazy by GoodNewsJimDotCom · · Score: 4, Insightful

    So we find you can control limbs with wires. How long until we control limbs that are wireless? Can a man control 8 robotic arms and be like Dr. Octopus? Can we hook electrodes to our brain, wifi to it, and wifi to a monkey, then we can control a monkey with our minds? All Twilight Zone plot lines aside, this research is really awesome. It gives hope to everyone paralyzed that they'll be able to regain movement again. This is the stuff that money should be thrown at hand over fist.

    --
    God spoke to me
  14. How do you find a paralyzed monkey? by bronney · · Score: 1

    Just wondering.

    1. Re:How do you find a paralyzed monkey? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Find a normal monkey and you slap your monkey until it is paralyzed.

  15. We are doomed! by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Doomed! I tell you! First it's restoring paralyzed monkey hands and then we have thousand handed flying monkey overlords!

    1. Re:We are doomed! by Neil+Boekend · · Score: 2

      A thousands hands on normal length arms connected to a single monkey would resemble a ball.

      --
      Well, I might have a way, but it only works on a semi spherical planet in a vacuum.
  16. New tool for the TSA? by parallel_prankster · · Score: 1

    I guess the first use of this technology will be that at security checkpoints we will give ourselves a pat down :)

  17. Monkeys are not for experimets by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0, Insightful

    I am sick and tired of the bullshit surrounding animal cruelty, they have fear, suffer pain and eventually die from this type of experimental shit.

    Its about time slashdot users complained about this shit!

    1. Re:Monkeys are not for experimets by Taibhsear · · Score: 1

      I know this is slashdot, but you could at least read the article before the knee-jerk response kicks in.

      To test this idea, the researchers injected a nerve-blocking drug to temporarily paralyze one hand and forearm in the monkeys.

      They used a drug to temporarily paralyze the hand. They didn't break its spine, they didn't kill it. There was probably a tiny bit of pain and fear, no different from vaccinating a child. Please try to keep things in context.

  18. So, 38 years... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Until I can get wired reflexes?

  19. George Bush by gd2shoe · · Score: 1

    Relax. He's no longer president. You can now move on with your life.

    --
    I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
    1. Re:George Bush by geekoid · · Score: 1

      Too bad we are still suffering from his stupidity and the greed of his party.

      --
      The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
    2. Re:George Bush by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      Whatever. "cant get right" is in office now, it's his beast. If it took you or me almost 4 years to do our jobs, do you think we'd still have one?

    3. Re:George Bush by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

      There, there, dear. Of course it's all Obama's fault. He's involved with everything, and gets everyone to do what he wants always.

      Grow up, kid. The President is a figurehead, and 4 or even 8 years in office isn't enough to outmaneuver career criminals (ahem, Congress).

    4. Re:George Bush by gd2shoe · · Score: 2

      Open your eyes. We are still suffering from the stupidity and greed of both parties.

      (They're in nearly equal proportion. People can disagree about which is worse, but it's comparing landfills to sewage treatment; neither odor is agreeable.)

      --
      I won't join Slashcott. OTOH, If Beta goes live, I just won't be back until it's fixed. Sorry Dice.
  20. Well I, for one.. by Sigg3.net · · Score: 1

    Well, I for one, welcome our handshaking overlords!

    --
    Defining Statistics and Social Research
  21. Get a grip...? by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Now how can i get my girlfriend to get one of those implants?

  22. Re:I've posted this before, but since it is so cra by geekoid · · Score: 1

    Not soon enough.

    --
    The Kruger Dunning explains most post on /. http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Dunning%E2%80%93Kruger_effect
  23. The sociopaths of Slashdot... by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    ... having difficulty imagining the suffering of others...

    Not one post (unless I missed it) about the suffering and agony of the victims of these so-called 'researchers'...

    Don't tell me - it's "vital" research. "Vital" to the careers of the psychopaths performing it, and that is all.

    Look at all the moronic comments on here, without the slightest concern for the suffering of the innocent victims of the vivisectionists. It just shows that the Slashdot crowd have the mental age of a three year old, completely unconcerned about others' suffering.

  24. Phillip Jecty by Anonymous Coward · · Score: 0

    Wow!