I wonder how long will it take to reliably "externalize" control of at least some of the brain functions. So far, scientists have been poking in different directions without a real breakthrough. Maybe we are still in the period of data accumulation.

Peter Brown and his colleagues at University College London generated a small electrical current in the brains of 14 healthy volunteers using scalp electrodes. The current increased the activity of normal beta waves – a kind of brain wave that is usually active during sustained muscle activities, such as holding a book. Beta activity usually drops before people begin a movement.

The participants then carried out a simple task: they moved a spot on a computer screen as quickly as possible using a joystick. When beta wave activity increased, their fastest times slowed by 10 per cent.

via New Scientist.