Scientists are one step closer to reading people's minds after developing new technology that can decode internal speech with nearly 80 per cent accuracy. Some people are unable to speak due to disease or injury, but devices called brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) can help patients communicate again. Also known as'speech decoders', BMIs can capture brain activity during inner speech – words thought within the mind without making any movement or sound – and translate it into language. Until now, it has been difficult to achieve highly accurate results. Researchers from the California Institute of Technology implanted tiny devices in specific areas of the brains of two participants.

When you finish reading this sentence, look away from the screen for a moment and repeat it back in your head. Do you know exactly where in your brain this inner "voice" is speaking from? Researchers have tried to map out the regions of the brain responsible for this "inner monologue" for years. One promising candidate is an area called the supramarginal gyrus, which sits a little north of your eyeballs and slightly behind your ears. What's new -- According to new research presented at the recent Society for Neuroscience conference, the supramarginal gyrus could help scientists translate people's inner thoughts.