--- ---  # Paralyzed Monkeys Able to Walk Again With Wireless Brain Device  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 10, 2016 1:08 PM UTC  Grégoire Courtine holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain and a brain implant. The brain-spine interface uses a microelectrode array like this one to detect spiking activity of the brain’s motor cortex Grégoire Courtine holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain and a brain implant. The brain-spine interface uses a microelectrode array like this one to detect spiking activity of the brain’s motor cortexAlain Herzog/EPFL  by [Justin Worland](https://time.com/author/justin-worland/)  ## Justin Worland Senior Correspondent Nov 10, 2016 1:08 PM UTC Two rhesus monkeys paralyzed by a spinal cord injury were able to walk again after scientists installed a wireless device in their brains to control movement, according to a new [study](http://nature.com/articles/doi:10.1038/nature20118). Researchers hope that the breakthrough, reported in the journal _Nature_, can eventually be applied to humans with [paraplegia](http://time.com/3745664/parents-hunt-answers-kids-paralysis/). The device incorporates parts approved for human use and some have suggested the first human trials could take place by 2020. Normally, the brain coordinates movement by sending electrical signals throughout the body using the spinal cord. People and animals with spinal cord injuries—like the lesions experienced by the monkeys in the study—can be immobilized because of the interruption. The new device sends wireless signals from the brain to “hotspots” that control different motions. In this case, the hotspots were installed on the lower spinal cord. The idea behind the device has been around since the 1970s but only recently has technology advanced to allow such a development, according to an accompanying article published in _Nature_. The advance could help the 250,000 to 500,000 people who suffer spinal cord injuries each year, according to World Health Organization data. Monkey Research Could Help Paralyzed Humans ```json [{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"NewsArticle","@id":"https://time.com/4566026/monkeys-research-paralysis/","mainEntityOfPage":{"@type":"WebPage","@id":"https://time.com/4566026/monkeys-research-paralysis/"},"headline":"Paralyzed Monkeys Able to Walk Again With Wireless Brain Device","datePublished":"2016-11-10T13:08:00.000Z","dateModified":"2026-02-23T01:45:00.113Z","description":"The study has implications for humans","url":"https://time.com/4566026/monkeys-research-paralysis/","keywords":["animals","Research"],"thumbnailUrl":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9602076231c24017/6988adf6bc6cfcccfa3df46c/monkey-device-research.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","author":[{"@type":"Person","name":"Justin Worland","jobTitle":"Senior Correspondent","url":"https://time.com/author/justin-worland/"}],"articleSection":"Science","image":[{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://static.time.com/v3/assets/bltea6093859af6183b/blt9602076231c24017/6988adf6bc6cfcccfa3df46c/monkey-device-research.jpg?branch=production&width=1200&quality=75&auto=webp&crop=1200:675&height=675","width":1200,"height":675,"headline":"monkey device research","caption":"Grégoire Courtine holds a silicon model of a primate’s brain and a brain implant. The brain-spine interface uses a microelectrode array like this one to detect spiking activity of the brain’s motor cortex","creditText":"Alain Herzog/EPFL","representativeOfPage":true}],"publisher":{"@type":"Organization","name":"Time","url":"https://time.com/","logo":{"@type":"ImageObject","url":"https://time.com/images/logo.png","width":528,"height":156},"foundingDate":"March 3, 1923","sameAs":["https://www.facebook.com/time","https://www.instagram.com/time/?hl=en","https://twitter.com/time","https://www.pinterest.com/timemagazine"]}},{"@context":"https://schema.org","@type":"BreadcrumbList","itemListElement":[{"@type":"ListItem","position":1,"item":{"@id":"/section/science/","name":"Science"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":2,"item":{"@id":"/tag/animals/","name":"animals"}},{"@type":"ListItem","position":3,"item":{"@id":"https://time.com/4566026/monkeys-research-paralysis/","name":"Paralyzed Monkeys Able to Walk Again With Wireless Brain Device"}}]}] ```