Brain Breakthrough: First Neuralink patient controls mouse with thoughts, Musk says

Less than a month after the first human received a brain implant from Neuralink, company founder and CEO Elon Musk revealed on Tuesday that the recipient can now manipulate a computer mouse solely through their thoughts.

During a live session on the social media platform X, Musk disclosed that the patient has shown remarkable progress, experiencing no adverse effects and successfully maneuvering the mouse cursor on the screen using only brain signals.

″[The] patient seems to have made a full recovery with no ill effects that we are aware of and is able to control the mouse, move the mouse around the screen just by thinking,” Musk said in a Spaces session on X (formerly Twitter).

Providing an update on the company’s progress, Neuralink founder and CEO Elon Musk expressed satisfaction with the recent procedure, highlighting the patient’s smooth recovery. He remained optimistic about the initial outcomes, emphasizing the device’s capability to detect neural activity effectively.

Musk, who also serves as the CEO of Tesla, elaborated on Neuralink’s objectives, emphasizing their endeavor to maximize the functionality of brain-controlled actions. This includes tasks like manipulating the mouse and dragging objects on a screen through mere thought processes.

Neuralink, a venture spearheaded by Musk, focuses on developing implantable chips capable of wirelessly interpreting brain signals, potentially revolutionizing the treatment of neurological disorders and facilitating direct communication between the brain and external devices.

The company’s ultimate ambition is to establish seamless communication channels between the human brain and computers, opening doors to enhanced cognitive abilities and innovative therapeutic interventions for conditions like ALS and Parkinson’s disease, while also exploring the integration of humans and artificial intelligence.

Neuralink gained approval from US regulators last year to initiate human trials for its brain implants, marking a significant milestone in its journey toward commercialization. The technology revolves around the “Link,” a tiny implant inserted into the brain, designed to facilitate bidirectional communication with external devices.

Recruitment for the first-in-human clinical trial began following FDA approval in May, according to company announcements, signifying a crucial phase in Neuralink’s pursuit of regulatory clearance.

Founded in 2016 by Elon Musk, the San Francisco-based Neuralink aims to refine the brain-machine interface process, striving for a level of seamlessness akin to procedures like Lasik surgery. Over the past seven years, the company has focused on developing flexible, implantable threads to interface with the brain, driving forward the frontier of neural technology.