People diagnosed with complete long - term paralysis from spinal cord injuries have shown unprecedented gains in mobility and feeling during a trial using brain - activated robotics and virtual reality technology . In a Sao Paolo clinic , the trial has seen four patients ' medical status changed to " partial recovery " after techniques to stimulate patients ' brains were used to reactivate their limbs . A screen grab from a video summarizing The as - yet - unproven hypothesis is that activity in the brain will also stimulate the damaged spinal cord .
People diagnosed with complete long - term paralysis from spinal cord injuries have shown unprecedented gains in mobility and feeling during a trial using brain - activated robotics and virtual reality technology . In a Sao Paolo clinic , the trial has seen four patients ' medical status changed to " partial recovery " after techniques to stimulate patients ' brains were used to reactivate their limbs . The as - yet - unproven hypothesis is that activity in the brain will also stimulate the damaged spinal cord .