Embodiments describe a vehicle configured with a brain machine interface (BMI) for a vehicle computing system to control vehicle functions using electrical impulses from motor cortex activity in a user's brain. A BMI training system trains the BMI device to interpret neural data generated by a motor cortex of a user and correlate the neural data to a vehicle control command associated with a neural gesture emulation function. A BMI system onboard the vehicle may receive a neural data feed of neural data from the user using the trained BMI device, determine, a user intention for a control instruction to control a vehicle infotainment system using the neural data feed, and perform an action based on the control instruction. The vehicle may further include a headrest configured as a Human Machine Interface (HMI) device that reads the electrical impulses without invasive electrode connectivity.