Brain implants

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Food and Drug Administration approved a clinical trial in which four-square-millimeter chips will be placed beneath the skulls of patients.

Chip contains tiny spikes that will extend down about one millimeter into the brain after being implanted beneath the skull, monitoring the activity from a small group of neurons. The signals will be monitored through wires emerging from the skull, which presents some danger of infection. The company is working on a wireless version.

Wolpaw said it isn't clear that it's necessary to implant such devices inside the brain; other technologies that monitor activity from outside the skull may prove as effective. But, he said, the idea of brain implants seems to attract more attention.