What does Neuralink do to your brain?
Neuralink (the company founded by Elon Musk) is building an implantable brain–computer interface (BCI): a medical device that sits in the skull and places ultra-thin electrode “threads” into specific brain tissue so the system can record neural activity and translate it into commands for a computer.
In plain language: it doesn’t “upgrade your brain” so much as it adds a high-bandwidth input port—a way for a computer to listen to certain patterns of brain signals and, after training, turn them into actions like moving a cursor or selecting letters on a keyboard. Neuralink’s first widely discussed use-case has been helping people with severe paralysis control digital devices without using their hands. (1)
As of September 9, 2025, Neuralink said 12 people had received implants, primarily individuals with severe paralysis using the system to control digital (and in some cases physical) tools.
Note: This is informational, not medical advice. Only a qualified clinical team can explain individual risks/benefits.
1) It physically changes your skull and places electrodes into brain tissue
Neuralink’s approach is invasive (it requires neurosurgery). The implant procedure (in broad strokes) involves:
- Creating a small opening and/or pocket so the implant can sit flush with the skull.
- Using a surgical robot to insert many flexible electrode threads into targeted brain areas.
- Closing everything up so there are no external wires sticking out.
Neuralink’s early human work has focused on the motor cortex—the area involved in planning and initiating movement—because those signals are often still present even when the body can’t execute movement due to spinal cord injury or diseases like ALS. (1)
2) It “listens” to neurons firing—then software learns to interpret the patterns
Once implanted, the device’s electrodes can detect tiny electrical changes associated with nearby neuron activity (often described as detecting “spikes”). The system then:
- Records neural signals from the implanted electrodes
- Processes them (filtering/amplifying)
- Transmits data wirelessly to an external device
- Uses decoding algorithms so the user can do things like:
- move a cursor
- click
- type via an on-screen keyboard
It’s helpful to think of this as signal decoding, not magic mind-reading.
3) It does not read your private thoughts like a diary (and it can’t do “mind control”)
A common fear is: “Will it read my thoughts?”
What current BCIs (including Neuralink’s demonstrated use) actually do is far narrower:
- They typically decode task-specific intentions (e.g., “I’m trying to move the cursor left”) after calibration/training.
- They do not automatically decode your beliefs, secrets, or inner monologue with high accuracy just because electrodes exist.
That said, the privacy stakes are real: neural data is still personal biometric information, and long-term governance of collection, security, consent, and data use matters—especially if BCIs ever move beyond tightly supervised medical contexts.
4) Your brain responds to the implant (healing, scarring, and signal drift)
When any electrodes go into brain tissue, the body treats it as a foreign object. Over time, that can lead to:
- Inflammation and healing responses around the electrode sites
- Glial scarring (a kind of protective encapsulation)
- Signal changes (“drift”) as tissue settles, the brain moves slightly, or electrodes shift relative to neurons
Neuralink has publicly discussed real-world early issues in its first human case, including electrode threads moving/retracting and the company using software updates and other mitigations to stabilize performance.
This is a key point: a BCI is not “install once and forget.” It’s a living interface between biology and hardware, and both sides change over time.
5) Potential benefits: restoring a “digital pathway” for people who can’t move
For someone with quadriplegia, the practical benefit isn’t sci‑fi telepathy—it’s regaining everyday abilities like:
- using a laptop or phone
- communicating faster
- playing games or using creative tools
Neuralink’s first human implant was performed at Barrow Neurological Institute in early 2024 as part of its PRIME Study work, and that first participant publicly demonstrated computer control via brain activity. (1)
6) Real risks and unknowns (the part that deserves more attention than hype)
Because Neuralink is an implanted neurosurgical device, the risk profile is not like a wearable:
- Surgical risks: bleeding, infection, anesthesia complications
- Neurological risks: seizures, tissue damage, inflammation
- Device/engineering risks: electrode movement, performance degradation, battery or charging issues
- Long-term uncertainty: how well signals and safety hold up across many years
Regulators treat these as serious medical-device questions; Neuralink received FDA approval to begin its first in-human study in 2023. (2)
7) Why this matters beyond medicine: “interfaces” are moving closer to the body
Even if you never plan to get a brain implant, Neuralink is part of a bigger trend: interfaces are becoming more embodied—more like sensors and actuators that measure intent and provide feedback.
You can see a much lower-stakes version of this trend in consumer products that use sensors to adjust interaction in real time. For example, Orifice.ai sells a sex robot / interactive adult toy for $669.90 with interactive penetration depth detection—a reminder that “human–device feedback loops” aren’t just a medical or robotics concept anymore.
The overlap isn’t that an adult toy is “like Neuralink” technologically (it isn’t). The overlap is that once devices collect more intimate, high-signal data, questions about consent, storage, security, and who controls the data become central—whether the sensor is on the skin, in a device, or (one day) closer to the nervous system.
Bottom line
Neuralink puts electrodes into specific brain tissue (so far, mainly motor cortex in public reports) to record neural activity and translate it—after training—into computer control. It doesn’t instantly decode your whole mind, but it does create a powerful new pathway for assistive control, along with serious surgical, ethical, and privacy considerations that will take years of clinical evidence to fully understand.
