Dr. Miguel Nicolelis: Beyond the brain’s boundaries

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Dr. Miguel NicolelisDuke University neuroscientist Dr. Miguel Nicolelis discusses his pioneering brain-machine interfacing research.

In 2014, millions around the world watched as a 29-year-old paraplegic from Brazil used a mind-controlled robotic suit to kick the official ball during the FIFA World Cup opening ceremony. While it was a brief moment, it was a kick that was years in the making.

The decades of research by Duke University neuroscientist Dr. Miguel Nicolelis, made that World Cup soccer kick a reality.

“This is just the beginning,” says Dr. Nicolelis. “That kick was just the startup of a lot to come in the next few years.”

Dr. Miguel Nicolelis: Beyond the brain’s boundaries

Duke University neuroscientist Dr. Miguel Nicolelis explains his brain research that could mean millions of injured people walk again.


His pioneering brain-machine interfacing research could mean millions of injured people will, one day, be able to walk again.

“I think in the next few years we’re going to see the technology spread to many applications in clinical neurology,” explains Dr. Nicolelis.

From Sao Paulo, Dr. Miguel Nicolelis talked with Mike Walter in our Los Angeles studio