Harnessing The Power Of The Brain

Scott Pelley Reports How Brain Computer Interface May Help The Paralyzed In The Future

(CBS)  Dr. Leigh Hochberg of Massachusetts General Hospital is leading the clinical trial. Pelley watched as Cathy showed what she can do.

She was able to move a cursor with nothing but her mind. "She's thinking about the movement of her hand, and she's moving the cursor much as if she had her hand on a mouse," Hochberg explains.

So if a paralyzed patient thinks to move his or her left arm, Donoghue says the brain fires those neurons, even though the arm doesn't move. "It’s very surprising. It fires, even though you’re not moving," he says.

Moving the cursor with her mind is not as fluid or direct as using a mouse. While 60 Minutes was there, the cursor meandered a bit, sometimes overshot, but Cathy always hit her target in the end: clicking the cursor on a logo to play music.

"That's pretty amazing. And so, if Cathy can control a cursor, she can control anything a computer is connected to?" Pelley asks.

"That’s the goal," Hochberg says.

"The lights, the temperature in the room, even, even a wheelchair at some point," Pelley adds.

In fact, Cathy has already driven a wheelchair. They haven't let her ride in it yet for her own safety, but with monkeys adopting robot arms and a completely paralyzed person driving a chair, imagine where this could be headed.

Donoghue envisions this technology will go beyond helping people communicate.

He believes that amputees will one day be using BCIs to control robotic arms, and those with paralysis will be able to move their own arms and legs again. "In spinal cord injury, that cable that connects the brain to the spinal cord is broken. We can reconnect that brain, not to the spinal cord, but directly out to the muscles with a little computer that’s making up for all the lost parts. And we’ll see people be able to do things like reach out, hold onto a cup, bring the cup to their mouth and have a sip of water," he says.

As a neuroscientist, Scott Mackler also believes that day will come. His skullcap interface is a machine that has given him back his humanity. He’s continued to publish scientific papers and to speak his mind. "Live life to the fullest. My wife and I now speak everyday of how we have no regrets," he says.

As our interview ended, Scott Mackler asked Pelley to play a PowerPoint presentation he made to make sure that he got the last word.

"So I’m going to roll that now and see what he has to say," Pelley remarked.

"Please don't think that I'm an inspiration, because anyone could do what I’ve done," Scott said.

"Scott keeps talking about not being courageous. I don't particularly think that is true," Pelley commented.

"I don't either," Scott's wife Lynn added. "I think he's pretty brave."