Neurosurgeon Dr. Ashesh Mehta is trying eavesdrop on the brain with the help of tiny electrodes implanted on its surface. Mehta is using those microelectrodes to capture the electrical impulses that happen when a person hears in her "mind's ear" what words she intends to say out loud. Then, those signals will be transmitted wirelessly to a computer that decodes the message. The big-picture goal of the experiment: translate thoughts into speech. If all goes well, the system could become the first “brain-computer interface” — and might one day give people with paralyzing conditions the ability to talk again.
Learn more: With brain implants, scientists hope to translate paralyzed patients’ thoughts into speech