(Newser)
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You're one step closer to having your movement and sexual arousal controlled by somebody else, but the huge, obtrusive helmet you'd have to wear would probably tip you off. A scientist at MIT has developed a method for wireless mind control in mice, reports Discover. The helmet triggers specific reactions in the subject by flashing colored lights on particular areas of the brain, switching on and off aggression, sexual behavior, and directional movement.
Previous devices have used heavy wired devices that can hinder the validity of a study. The new development could open up a wide range of experiments that could offer insight into diseases like Parkinson's. The biggest obstacle is the size and weight of the equipment needed—but that shouldn't last long. "Nearly all of the underlying technologies enabling this device are being improved daily," says the developer. "By riding technology development curves, the system described here may eventually be miniaturized to a few square millimeters.”
