Some early successes in using implanted electrodes to improve communications with patients suffering from locked-in syndrome are reported on in this paper. One focus is on the difficulties encountered, not only in interpreting the brain’s electrical signals, but also due to the typically poor health of such patients. Most of the paper describes work with a patient whose vision was deteriorating during the research, forcing the researchers to create a kind of musical keyboard. The secondary focus was on research priorities, and potential future improvements and applications.

The most significant finding reported here is evidence of the development of a “cursor cortex,” as the patients learned to manipulate the cursor directly, without thinking of it in terms of some other mental activity. The presentation is clear and well written, but the research is still very preliminary, and general conclusions are still limited.