Previous studies, external have also shown that genes can be expressed using light - a process which uses optogenetics where cells or genes are engineered to respond to light.
The new study, the first to merge these two fields, is published in Nature Communications, external.
"We can control several things with the mind but there has never been a link to the molecular biology of gene transcription." Prof Fussenegger said.
Commenting on the study Prof Geraint Rees of University College London's Institute of Neuroscience, said the research showed an interesting way to trigger gene activation but added that it was unclear how useful the technology could be, especially because "optogenetics is entirely limited to experimental animals".
He said there was also still a long way to go to fully understand how to decode brainwaves from BCIs.
"We don't yet have a complete understanding of how to translate what we can record on the surface of somebody's scalp into a pattern of thought," Prof Rees told the BBC.