Working in Movement

Mind and Brain Again I noticed in the bookstore today that The Mind and the Brain: Neuroplasticity and the Power of Mental Force is out in paperback. I've written about it elsewhere. Although the intent of the book is talking about plasticity and Obsessive Compulsive disorder, it gives an excellent history of movement-based plasticity research. Highly recommended.

A follow up to yesterday's report on a study where monkeys learned to control a robotic arm by thinking is Imagining Thought-Controlled Movement for Humans. Interestingly, it turns out the study at Duke University was funded by DARPA. Though the potential technology could bring mobility to the immobile, the intent might not be so benign. Here's a quote:

The technology may have other applications. The money for the Duke research came from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency. The research was mentioned in the text of a welcoming address by the agency's director, Anthony J. Tether, to Dapratech 2002, a meeting that presented directions in the agency's research. In his prepared remarks, still available on the Web, he looks to the future, 25 years or more down the road, and says, "Imagine a warrior - with the intellect of a human and the immortality of a machine - controlled by our thoughts."[New York Times: Science]

Yes, but what if this cybernetic "warrior" wanted to become governor of a large state?