( CNN ) -- Perhaps the most interesting kick of the World Cup so far comes from a young adult who is paralyzed from the waist down . Clad in a metal vest , sporting a blue cap dotted with electrodes , he kicked off the world 's biggest soccer championship in an exoskeleton . It was , according to the scientist behind the exoskeleton 's kick , `` meant to shock the world . '' But even more shocking than the exoskeleton 's first tentative steps is learning how it worked : controlled by the paralyzed patient 's mind . Let 's back up . Before there was a mind-controlled exoskeleton , there was a neuroscientist named Dr. Miguel Nicolelis who was curious about `` brain storms , '' flurries of activity caused by neurons at any given moment . `` We have about 100 million cells interconnected in our brains , '' said Nicolelis , a professor of neuroscience at Duke University . `` They communicate with one another through electrical signals . '' Nicolelis wanted to know how brain storms generated behavior , so he began recording them . `` We wanted to understand how large populations of brain cells interact , '' how memories are built , how we move our bodies or how we sense the world around us , said Nicolelis . Scientists quickly realized that decoding the alphabet of neurons in the brain meant that its language could be transmitted to devices outside the brain . Thus began the creation of the mind-controlled exoskeleton , or what Nicolelis and his colleagues call a `` brain-machine interface , '' a way of connecting brain tissue to artificial devices . `` We realized that there was a tremendous potential application for rehabilitation in severely paralyzed patients , '' Nicolelis said . Paper-thin electrodes ( that can both record and transmit neuronal information to the exoskeleton ) are the conduit between the patient 's brain and the exoskeleton . In the case of human patients , most of the electrodes reside in a cap that he or she wears . The patient thinks about moving , the generated activity is translated , and that activates the exoskeleton . `` We are able to show that you can read the signals and send them to devices , '' said Nicolelis , adding that the devices , in turn , move according to the voluntary intention of the patient . That is the simple explanation . What is more complicated is how brain signals , muscle movement and spinal cord activity all coalesced into that dazzling opening kick . Nicolelis is hoping to build on what he and his team have already accomplished to create a full-body exoskeleton . That will involve recording tens of thousands of neurons simultaneously , he said . `` ( One day ) we 'll be walking in New York and we 'll see a person walking on the streets that could not walk before , '' he said . `` I think in our lifetime we 'll see that . ''
Paralyzed patient kicks off the 2014 World Cup in an exoskeleton . Exoskeleton is controlled by the patient 's mind . Neuroscientists call it a `` brain-machine interface ''