] Monkeys that learn to use their brain signals to control
] a robotic arm are not just learning to manipulate an
] external device, Duke University Medical Center
] neurobiologists have found. Rather, their brain
] structures are adapting to treat the arm as if it were
] their own appendage.

] The finding has profound implications both for
] understanding the extraordinary adaptability of the
] primate brain and for the potential clinical success of
] brain-operated devices to give the handicapped the
] ability to control their environment.

] The analysis revealed that while the animals were still able to
] use their own arms, some brain cells formerly used for that
] control shifted to control of the robotic arm.

] The idea for the next experiment is that by using vision and
] touch, we're actually going to create inside the brains of these
] animal a vivid perceptual image of what it is to have a third arm.