Typing essays can be tedious and exhausting. Speech-recognition software is out there but is frustratingly inconsistent (When was the last time Siri understood you without you having to speak in a comically slow, loud drone?). It is the dream of authors and students alike to be able to have their thoughts appear directly on a screen in front of them. More serious than this, people with physical disabilities like ALS or a spinal cord injury that inhibit movement or even speech, still lack a quick and efficient way to communicate with those around them. As a possible remedy to this problem, neuroscientists from Albany, New York, have published results that bring us one step closer to direct brain-computer interface (BCI).

Dr. Peter Brenner et al. have recently published results in "Frontiers in Neuroscience" from experiments conducted on seven test subjects that show that reasonably fast, accurate BCI is possible. The seven test subjects selected already had metal electrode implants in their brain to treat preexisting conditions such as epilepsy. The neuroscientists connected these electrodes to a computer which displayed a grid of letters in front of the test subjects. When the test subject looked at an individual letter, a distinct brain signal called an event-related potential (ERP) was produced. The electrodes could detect and differentiate the various ERPs in the subject’s brain. When the subject looked at a letter, the computer would detect a signal and type the letter on the screen. This process allowed the test subjects to spell words using only their minds!

The test subjects were able to type an average of 60.5 characters per minute with an accuracy of 98 percent. These results are leaps and bounds ahead of any previous attempts at text-based BCI. This is because the researchers used electrodes implanted in the brain rather than electrodes applied to the scalp and forehead that read only surface brainwaves (electroencephalograph or EEG readings). The obvious practical problem is that most people do not have metal electrodes in their brain, and many would hesitate to get major surgery to be able to type with their mind more slowly than they can with their hands. However, the results of this study are nonetheless exciting and promising. Scientific research is a gradual process where the little breakthroughs of many people over time gradually accumulate until fantastic, society-altering technology is produced. The accomplishments of Brunner et al. are enormous steps towards practical BCI technology. You may be writing your history essay with your mind sooner than you think.