Indeed, the MIT team plans to use this chip to model neural structures such as vision in order to gain a deeper understanding of the brain.

FORBES: MIT Scientists Develop A Chip That Mimics Brain Synapses

"This is a really small microchip and on this chip we've got the intelligence which can actually model the neural signals responsible for appetite control, " Prof Toumazou told the BBC.

BBC: News

But now, NeuroSky (a fab(u)less startup of US chip designers and Russian neuroscientists chillin' in NorCal) claims a "breakthrough" in non-invasive neural sensors allowing low-cost, dry (no contact gels) neural mapping solutions to be applied to those things you'd most like to mind control (spouse, voters, TV, game console, cellphone).

ENGADGET: NeuroSky to offer thought control without those pesky brain implants