Before Noland Arbaugh became the first person to have Neuralink’s brain computer interface implanted in January, before he used it to break the world record for speed and precision controlling a cursor with your brain, and before he did a media tour that would make even some Hollywood A-listers jealous, Arbaugh was like many other high-level quadriplegics trying to find their path post-injury.

Since dislocating his C4-5 vertebrae in a 2016 swimming accident, Arbaugh had dropped out of Texas A&M and returned to live with his family in Yuma, Arizona. Due to the combination of Yuma’s scorching heat — from May to September the average high temperature is 99 degrees or more — and the intense spasms he experienced when sitting in his power chair, Arbaugh spent most of his time in bed, watching TV. With no sensation or function below his shoulders and having limited caregiving hours provided by the state, he relied heavily on his parents and brother and often felt like a burden.

When a friend suggested he apply to Neuralink, Arbaugh knew he was ready for a change. “In seven-plus years of being a quad, I’d not had much opportunity to do a whole lot with my life, and I thought that this would be my chance,” he says.

‘A Whole New World’

Neuralink has brought more visibility to BCI than any of its predecessors, in part thanks to its founder — tech billionaire Elon Musk — and its novel implementation. Unlike other BCIs that require the user to be plugged in, Neuralink uses a coin-sized implant that sits under the skull and transmits wirelessly via Bluetooth. Small threads connect the implant directly to the brain and read electrical spikes in the neurons, allowing the implant to learn what Arbaugh is trying to do. Most of the early research involves using his thoughts to control a digital cursor via an app designed by the Neuralink engineers.

The prospect of having 64 microscopic threads attached to your brain in a first-of-its kind surgery might seem daunting, but Arbaugh says he wasn’t too concerned. “I’m really grounded in my faith, so I felt like I was ready for whatever was to come,” he says. The desire to give back to his parents after all they did for him clearly factored in his decision. “I thought about how it might change my life and how it might change my parents’ lives. It could open up a lot of doors for us, for me, and then, by proxy, them. It made me feel like, if I was ever going to give back to them, this was my opportunity.”

Surgeons implanted the device on January 29, 2024, and by March 20, Arbaugh was live on X, showing off his new ability to move the cursor and click with his mind. In the early days, Arbaugh spent 8-10 hours a day working to train the software with Neuralink staff. Neuralink reported Arbaugh broke the world record for human BCI cursor control in his first session.

When he wasn’t working, he was making up for lost time. “At the beginning, in my free time, I was doing nothing but playing video games,” he says. He had tried adaptive mice and other voice software prior to the implant, but never found any that gave him the level of control he desired. The implant made playing into the wee hours of the morning easy. “I missed playing games so much that I just played for hours and hours and hours. … It’s addicting. It’s so much fun — it opens up a whole new world.”

In May, Neuralink revealed that a number of the threads had retracted from Arbaugh’s brain, likely as a result of his brain moving more than Neuralink had anticipated. In addition to impeding his speed and control moving the cursor, the retractions forced him to adapt to a more cumbersome way of clicking.

“To lose all of that kind of sucked,” he says. “I was pretty upset when I first found out, but I just realized that everything that I go through now will make this better and will help other people down the road. After a few days of being down in the dumps, I got right back up.”

Instead of trying to reconnect the threads via surgery, engineers reworked the software and ended up boosting his speed despite having fewer connected threads. “The thing about these Neuralink guys is they can do anything,” says an impressed Arbaugh. Additionally, the developers built a custom speech-to-text program that he says is far superior to what is on the market, and they have helped him improve his home automation setup to boost his independence.

Finding Purpose

Because Arbaugh is part of an FDA study on the implant, there are limits on what Neuralink can provide. He is not compensated, and they cannot pay for his normal care. That means his family is still doing all of his care, except for the 10-15 hours a week he receives from a state-paid caregiver.

“Before, I would wake up and just [watch] my TV,” he says. “Now, I wake up and [work] on my computer. It’s very similar, but at the same time, my daily routine has changed from just watching stuff to being more active and interactive with the world.”

Arbaugh still spends upwards of four hours a day working directly with the Neuralink team on improving the app and understanding how the implant works. He says using the implant isn’t that mentally draining, but he makes sure to take breaks so as not to burn out. “I’m trying to be a lot more intentional with it,” he says, “so not as many video games, and more focus on making the app better for people who come after me.”

Aside from setting new world records for speed and accuracy, perhaps Arbaugh’s biggest breakthrough has been realizing that the implant can respond to imagined movements in addition to attempted movements. Originally, Arbaugh controlled the cursor by attempting to move his arm and hand in the desired direction. His arm and hand wouldn’t move, but the neurons would fire, the implant would pick that up and move the cursor correspondingly.

“At some point, I realized I could just move the cursor around with my thoughts. I could just think cursor go here and it would move and that worked just as well, if not better,” says Arbaugh. Researchers dubbed this imagined movement. “That blew my mind when it happened for the first time, and it kind of supplanted the attempted movements.”

“We’re just now scratching the surface of the capabilities and possibilities of this thing,” he adds. He has been working to train the implant to recognize sign language and thinks texting is one of many future capabilities. “I think down the road, it’s going to make a lot of people’s lives a lot better and make people much more independent and much more capable of doing a lot of things.”

As the first recipient, Arbaugh knew there would be setbacks and that he likely wouldn’t reap all the benefits that future users would, but he seems very happy with the functionality he has gained and his contribution to the field. He has no current plans to have the retracted threads surgically reinserted, or to get a future version installed.

When he is not working on Neuralink business, the implant is at the center of his rigorous online self-improvement plan. He is teaching himself Japanese and French, relearning math from the ground up and working through self-help books.

“There’s this bottomless pit of everything there is to learn in the world, and I just don’t know where to start,” he says. “So, I just thought if I could learn one thing every day, that’s a good place.” Arbaugh hopes all his educational efforts will make a possible return to college easier and help him towards a job and financial independence.

Media Frenzy

Thanks to a steady stream of media appearances, and his new connection to Musk’s empire, Arbaugh is well positioned to have an impact beyond BCI, should he decide he wants to. He has been featured in most major newspapers and websites and has guested on a number of popular podcasts, including the most-listened-to show in America, The Joe Rogan Experience. “It was a cool experience with someone on my bucket list,” says Arbaugh. “I was always worried that we wouldn’t have enough to talk about, but the hour and a half went by really, really quickly.”

On the same trip he recorded the interview — for which he flew for the first time since immediately after his injury — Arbaugh also got to meet Musk in person and tour many of his Texas facilities. The two chatted about the future of Neuralink, Musk’s space venture, Space X, and family. “It was super cool and really quick, but I’m glad I finally got the chance to sit down and talk to him.”

Despite the bucket list encounters and media attention, Arbaugh is adamant his focus is elsewhere. “That was never something I was really looking forward to in this whole process,” he says. “All I’ve been trying to find a way to do is help people, share my faith and get the news about Neuralink out there.”

This August, Neuralink announced that a second person had received their implant. If you are interested in finding out more about Neuralink, or signing up to be considered for future implants, visit neuralink.com.

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