Boy Controls Video Game Via Direct Brain Link 
An epilepsy patient at Washington University masters Space Invaders on mind
  power alone. 
From: InformationWeek - 10/23/2006 - page 25
By: Paul McDougall

Scientists at Washington University in St. Louis have wired the brain of an
epilepsy sufferer to a laptop computer, allowing the patient, a 14-year-old
boy, to play video games with his thought patterns.  

A grid of wires surgically attached to the boy's brain detects electrical
signals, or electrocorticographic activity, generated by his thoughts. The
grid is connected externally to a computer running an application developed
at the New York State Department of Health that converts brain signals into
instructions understood by the video game, in this case, Space Invaders. The
boy can control and fire the game's space cannon by, for example, thinking
about moving his tongue or his hand.  

The boy completed the game's first level using the system, says Dr. Eric
Leuthardt, an assistant professor of neurological surgery at the university's
school of medicine. The research could have profound implications for the
disabled, he says. "There's no reason someone couldn't be taught to
manipulate the Windows operating system using this method," Leuthardt says.
"Once they've gained that control, they could be a productive worker in an
office environment."  

Technology connecting the brains of disabled office workers to computers is
about five to 10 years away, Leuthardt says. "There are still reliability and
safety factors to be worked out," he says, noting that long-term use of the
system could lead to scarring of brain tissue.  

Article from:
http://www.informationweek.com/news/showArticle.jhtml?articleID=193401005

Photo:
http://i.cmpnet.com/infoweek/1111/111DPTSpaceInvaders.jpg

Photo caption: I think, therefore I win

