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This is the heart-warming moment a paralysed man was able to use a pair of arms for the first time in more than a decade.

Erik G. Sorto, 32, was paralysed from the neck down after suffering a gunshot wound 12 years ago.

But now, with the help of sci-fi-esque technology, he can use his mind to control robot arms that he can use to grab, hold and carry items - or even drink a beer.

Erik, rightfully, dubbed the experiment "awesome" following a successful trial with neuroscientists from the California Institute of Technology, in Pasadena.

"I was surprised at how easy it was," Erik said in a statement.

He added: "I remember just having this out-of-body experience, and I wanted to just run around and high-five everybody."

(Image: Youtube)

Richard Andersen, the neuroscientist heading up the project, explained how, while most robotic arms are wired to the brain's motor cortex, his are linked up to the posterior parietal cortex (PPC) - at the top of your brain and slightly to the back.

Andersen's psychic robot limbs are considerably less jerky than others, as the patient doesn't have to concentrate on each individual muscle in any single movement - like picking up a bottle of beer, for example.

Wiring up the limbs to the PPC, however, uses the brain's intention to move in a particular way, as opposed to its intention to move a series of individual muscles to create a single, flowing movement.

"It was very exciting to watch this work even for complicated actions," Andersen said.

"I think it's an important advance. We're very happy with the way it turned out."