Fourpeoplewereabletocontrolacomputerusingtheirthoughtsandanelectrode－studdedthinkingcap，U。S。researchersreportedonMonday。

Theysaidtheirset－upcouldsomedaybeadaptedtohelpdisabledpeopleoperateamotorizedwheelchairorartificiallimb。

Whileexperimentshaveallowedamonkeytocontrolacomputerwithitsthoughts，electrodeswereimplantedintotheanimal‘‘sbrain。Thisexperiment，reportedintheProceedingsoftheNationalAcademyofSciences，requirednosurgeryandnoimplants。

Theresultsshowthatpeoplecanlearntousescalp－recordedelectroencephalogramrhythmstocontrolrapidandaccuratemovementofacursorintwodimensions，JonathanWolpawandDennisMcFarlandoftheNewYorkStateDepartmentofHealthandStateUniversityofNewYorkinAlbanywrote。

Theytestedtheirdeviceonfourpeople——twopartlyparalyzedmenwhousedwheelchairsandahealthymanandwoman。

Thekeywasaspecialcomputeralgorithm——aprogramthattranslatedthebrainsignalsintoameaningfuldirectiveofwhattheuserswantedthecomputertodo。

Theimpressivenoninvasivemultidimensionalcontrolachievedinthepresentstudysuggeststhatanoninvasivebraincontrolinterfacecouldsupportclinicallyusefuloperationofaroboticarm，amotorizedwheelchair，theresearcherswrote。

Thetwodisabledmenwerebetteratthetask，theresearchersfound。Thiscouldhavetodowithstrongermotivationorperhapsabrainforcedtobemoreadaptabletocopewiththeinjuriesthatleftthemendisabled，theresearcherssaid。