BrainGate Breakthroughs: The Future of Neurotechnology

Image Citation: (7)

Written by Elena Lynott ‘27

Edited by Josue Navarro ‘25

Around 5.5 million people in the United States alone live with some degree of paralysis due to neurological damage (1). There is currently no cure for paralysis, and nearly all forms of treatment revolve around adapting to life with paralysis. However, Brown University researchers in the Robert J. and Nancy D. Carney Institute for Brain Science have been developing novel technologies to restore autonomy to paralyzed individuals for the past 25 years with a project known as BrainGate. Pioneered by Brown’s lead researchers John Donoghue, Leigh Hochberg, and John Simeral, BrainGate is fusing the human brain with modern technology.

Paralysis is the loss of the ability to voluntarily make muscle movements in specific, or even all limbs (2). Although muscular function is targeted in paralysis, this condition actually stems from damage to the nervous system. Brain signals travel through the spinal cord to targeted limbs in order to drive specific movements. Thus, damage to the nervous system impacts the ability for motor signals to transmit from the brain throughout the body. Paralysis is the result of nervous system dysfunction, which can be caused by traumatic brain injury, neurodegenerative disease, autoimmune disease, or birth defects (2). Paralysis can cause people to lose their abilities to speak, walk, feed themselves, dress themselves, etc. Paralysis can lead to drastic life changes  and many treatments for paralysis can not enhance individuality or independence. BrainGate technology, however, seeks to change that.

BrainGate technology was developed by a team of researchers ranging from neurologists to computer engineers working with brain-computer interface technologies. These technologies can enable people with paralysis to control devices and prosthetic limbs by thinking about the actions they would want to make with their paralyzed limbs (3). By surgically implanting micro-electrodes into the motor cortex, these electrodes can pick up neural activity in the brain that would be transmitted throughout the human body if not for nervous system damage. These neural signals collected by the implanted electrodes are then decoded by external devices, primarily computers or technological limbs (3). “Decoding” neural signals in which  brain signals–that are sent  to muscles from a population of neurons–are detected and interpreted as the specific signal needed for a specific movement with this cutting-edge technology. Because brain-computer interfaces can get that specific movement information, these movements can be encoded and triggered to occur with other devices connected in this system.

For instance, one of BrainGate’s largest breakthroughs occurred in 2012 when this neurotechnology was tested in clinical trials with robotic limbs. By thinking about the task at hand, a woman who was completely paralyzed for 15 years prior to this trial, was able to pick up a bottle, bring it close to her mouth, tilt it towards her mouth, drink her beverage, and place it back down on the table (4). BrainGate research has made significant progress in the rebuilding of independence for paralyzed individuals. Since this trial, brain-computer interface technologies have only become more advanced. Most recently, this technology has been utilized to enable communication.

In the summer of 2024, clinical trials began on a patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis and paralysis in all four limbs in which the patient had brain-computer interface technology implanted into his brain. Prior to this surgery, the patient could not speak. After the surgery, however, communication became possible. The micro-electrodes implanted into the brain detected neural signals for language and the action of speaking. The brain-computer interface decoded these signals into the words that would be produced if speaking was possible. As a result, the  computer screen controlled by the brain-computer interface displayed and verbalized the appropriate words (5). Today, brain-computer interfaces can gather thoughts and desires from human brains and make those desires possible through general movements and speech. Stemming from Brown’s BrainGate research, seemingly impossible tasks for people with neurological conditions can be possible by harnessing the power of the brain.

Brain-computer interfaces are making medical technologies more powerful than ever before. BrainGate research has created a new world of possibilities for people with paralysis, and there is still much work being done in neurotechnology to improve the range of movements and capabilities possible. In future projects, Brown University BrainGate researchers hope to “cure” paralysis by connecting brain-computer interfaces to muscle stimulators (6). This complex network of technologies would allow for the movement of paralyzed limbs by the rewiring of neural systems.

References

1. News N. 5 times more people paralyzed than docs knew [Internet]. NBC News. 2009 [cited 2025 Jan 27]. Available from: https://www.nbcnews.com/health/health-news/5-times-more-people-paralyzed-docs-knew-flna1C9464941

2. Cleveland Clinic. Paralysis [Internet]. Cleveland Clinic. Cleveland Clinic; 2021. Available from: https://my.clevelandclinic.org/health/diseases/15345-paralysis

3. About Braingate [Internet]. BrainGate. 2015. Available from: https://www.braingate.org/about-braingate/

4. Orenstein D. People with paralysis control robotic arms using brain-computer interface [Internet]. Brown.edu. 2012. Available from: https://news.brown.edu/articles/2012/05/braingate2

5. Card NS, Maitreyee Wairagkar, Iacobacci C, Hou X, Singer-Clark T, Willett FR, et al. An Accurate and Rapidly Calibrating Speech Neuroprosthesis. New England Journal of Medicine. 2024 Aug 15;391(7):609–18.

6. 06-002 (BrainGate) [Internet]. Brown.edu. 2025 [cited 2025 Jan 27]. Available from: https://www.brown.edu/Administration/News_Bureau/2006-07/06-002.html

7. Connections UX. BrainGate: Restoring Control With Brain-Computer Interface [Internet]. UX Connections. 2021. Available from: https://www.uxconnections.com/braingate-restoring-control-with-brain-computer-interface/