In Greg Gage’s TED talk, “How to control someone else’s arm with your brain,” he explores the fascinating intersection of neuroscience and practical demonstrations. Gage highlights the complexities of the brain, noting the lack of widespread neuroscience education due to the high cost and complexity of brain research equipment. To address this gap, he and his lab mate Tim Marzullo founded Backyard Brains, a company that creates affordable DIY neuroscience tools to make brain science accessible to amateurs and students.Gage demonstrates the technology by involving volunteers in a live experiment. He first explains how the brain’s electrical signals control muscle movements through motor neurons. Using electrodes, he records the electrical activity from a volunteer’s brain as they move their arm, showcasing the real-time data of motor unit activity.Next, Gage performs a more advanced demonstration where he attempts to control one volunteer’s arm by mimicking and transferring the brain signals from another volunteer. By stimulating a specific nerve in one volunteer’s arm with these copied signals, he is able to make that person’s arm move in response to the brain activity of the first volunteer. This innovative demonstration highlights how understanding and manipulating brain signals can offer profound insights into neuroscience and potentially open new avenues for neuroengineering and education.
