• Posted July 16, 2026

Brain 'Microstimulation' Works Long-Term To Restore Sense Of Touch After Spinal Cord Injury

A special brain-computer interface can restore a sense of touch to the hands of people who lose that vital sense after a spinal cord injury, researchers report.

For up to a decade, the breakthrough microstimulation technology has allowed five recipients to feel touch sensations whenever they use it, the team added.

“This research plants a flag in the ground for the safety and utility of using brain-computer interfaces to deliver sensory stimulation in clinical settings and, eventually, in people’s homes,” said senior author Robert Gaunt, an associate professor of physical medicine and rehabilitation at the University of Pittsburgh. 

The duration of the benefit has been key.

“For brain-computer interfaces to have real impact on people’s lives, they need to keep working safely and reliably for years," Gaunt added in a news release. "This study shows that microstimulation in the brain can do exactly that."

His team reported its findings July 15 in Science Translational Medicine.

Brain-computer interfaces began to be developed in the early 2010s. 

They work via electrodes implanted into the brain. Computer technology analyzes brain signals received and "reads" the intent of the person, translating it into technologies that can control external computers, robotic limbs or communication devices. 

By 2015, investigators at the University of Pittsburgh were already investigating how a brain-computer interface might restore a sense of touch in people impaired by spinal cord injury. 

By 2020, they implanted electrodes into the sensory and motor cortex of their first recipient.

But a key question remained: Would the benefit be both safe and long-lasting?

Five volunteers who had lost their sense of touch after spinal cord injury have now worked for up to a decade with the Pittsburgh researchers, seeking to answer that question. 

All had been fitted with brain implants that send electrical pulses targeted to the hand region of the brain's somatosensory cortex. That's a brain center dedicated to processing sensory information on touch, pain, temperature and the like.

Over the years, the five participants have received a cumulative 168 million pulses of brain stimulation to gain a sense of touch, the researchers said.

This intracortical microstimulation has remained safe, stable and targeted to the hands. Touch sensations meant to be felt by the hands have not wandered to other parts of the body, even after up to 10 years with the implanted device, the researchers said.

As expected, the return of touch is temporary, dissipating soon after the microstimulation is switched off. 

There was an erosion of the sensitivity of the electrodes in the brain over time, with an average of 64% remaining functional in the years after they were implanted, the team said. 

Still, that result is promising, and shows that "this technology doesn’t just have to be a short-term solution we test in the lab; industry can start developing long-term take-home solutions for patients,” according to lead author Charles Greenspon. He's an assistant professor of neurological surgery at the University of Chicago.

The research team continues to fine-tune things, hoping to make touch sensations feel more natural and give users better real-time control of the technology.

The researchers theorize that the potential of the brain-computer interface could go beyond touch, perhaps helping to restore other senses that might be lost, such as hearing or vision. 

More information

To find out more about spinal cord injury, head to the U.S. National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke.

SOURCE: University of Pittsburgh, news release, July 15, 2026