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Brain–computer interface
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<p>A brain–computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a brain–machine interface (BMI), is a direct communication link between the <a href="/facts/Brain/EKla9NkJ">brain</a>'s electrical activity and an external device, most commonly a computer or robotic limb. BCIs are often directed at researching, <a href="/facts/Brain_mapping/3KEeSSwL">mapping</a>, assisting, <a href="/facts/Augmented_cognition/cqIrXGTe">augmenting</a>, or repairing human <a href="/facts/Cognitive_skill/8L95q3bX">cognitive</a> or <a href="/facts/Sensory-motor_coupling/AsJoC8D4">sensory-motor functions</a>. They are often conceptualized as a <a href="/facts/Human%E2%80%93machine_interface/e9sPEWVD">human–machine interface</a> that skips the intermediary of moving body parts (e.g. hands or feet). BCI implementations range from non-invasive (<a href="/facts/EEG/XGvpcBl5">EEG</a>, <a href="/facts/Magnetoencephalography/epvUfx7A">MEG</a>, <a href="/facts/MRI/Vh9yG9qq">MRI</a>) and partially invasive (<a href="/facts/ECoG/j6EhFgLV">ECoG</a> and endovascular) to invasive (<a href="/facts/Microelectrode_array/J0Fr9B45">microelectrode array</a>), based on how physically close electrodes are to brain tissue. </p><p>Research on BCIs began in the 1970s by Jacques Vidal at the <a href="/facts/University_of_California,_Los_Angeles/KwPz7AK1">University of California, Los Angeles</a> (UCLA) under a grant from the <a href="/facts/National_Science_Foundation/FlDT8TbW">National Science Foundation</a>, followed by a contract from the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (<a href="/facts/DARPA/Uf9sarhT">DARPA</a>). Vidal's 1973 paper introduced the expression <i>brain–computer interface</i> into scientific literature. </p><p>Due to the <a href="/facts/Cortical_plasticity/c0o0fvVm">cortical plasticity</a> of the brain, signals from implanted <a href="/facts/Prostheses/odTuXtC0">prostheses</a> can, after adaptation, be handled by the brain like natural sensor or effector channels. Following years of animal experimentation, the first <a href="/facts/Neuroprosthetic/K38auu8M">neuroprosthetic</a> devices were implanted in humans in the mid-1990s. </p>