Experts implanted neural chips in the monkeys' brains, which wirelessly transmitted signals to their leg muscles
TWO paralysed monkeys were allowed to walk again - in an operation which could help cure people with damaged spines.
Scientists implanted neural chips in the monkeys' brains, which wirelessly transmitted signals that stimulated their leg muscles.
It is believed to be the first time such a device has restored movement to the legs of non-human primates.
Scientists hope the research will pave the way for breakthroughs in treating people with spinal cord injuries.
Dr David Borton, from Brown University in the US, said: "The system we have developed uses signals recorded from the motor cortex of the brain to trigger co-ordinated electrical stimulation of nerves in the spine that are responsible for locomotion.
"With the system turned on, the animals in our study had nearly normal locomotion."
The two monkeys involved had spinal cord injuries that resulted in loss of movement in one leg.
The scientists implanted a pill-sized chip in their brains that recorded signals from the motor cortex, the region responsible for voluntary movement.
These signals were transmitted to a computer programmed to recognise patterns associated with leg movement.
The computer them beamed them back to a stimulator in the monkeys' spines, enabling muscle contractions and movement.
The monkeys began to move their non-functional leg while supported on a treadmill.
Dr Borton added: "Doing this wirelessly enables us to map the neural activity in mornal contexts and during natural behaviour.
"If we truly aim for neuroprosthetics that can someday be deployed to help human patients during activities of daily life, such untethered recording technologies will be critical."
The scientists stressed that significant research was required before this technology could be tested in humans.
