(CNN) How can a computer translate thoughts into spoken words? A team of scientists from the University of California have discovered a new and promising piece of that puzzle, and the result is a surprisingly convincing pattern of synthetic speech.

The scientists created a system that translates brain waves into words by focusing on the physical movements related to speech, rather than the sound of the words trying to be communicated. They found looking at the intended movements of the tongue, larynx and other speech mechanisms allowed them to reproduce voice sounds in a more reliable way than, say, trying to match brain waves to predicted speech sounds.

Using this information, the team created a computer program that simulates the movements of a vocal tract by honing in on the brain's speech centers.

Take a look at an example of this type of speech modeling. You can see the connection between the intended spoken words, and the way those words are formed by the different parts of the vocal tract.

The team's findings were recently published in the journal Nature . The paper concluded that this new method could be the basis of life-changing technology for people with severe speech disorders, physical trauma or other conditions that limit their ability to communicate.

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