Researchers develop hybrid biological neurochip capable of recording signals in the brain
The human brain is still not until the end well researched. To understand the structure and functioning of neurons, to learn about the senses, memory, perception, it is necessary to record the simultaneous operation of millions of nerve cells, their clusters and whole brain neural network. There are many technologies record these signals, but the most effective is “direct connection” of the electrodes. Disadvantage of this approach is that the connection is unstable and after a maximum of a few tens of minutes is the exclusion of the foreign element and the signal ceases to be perceived. But soon the work on the study of the brain can reach a new level thanks to the invention of a special chip that can be disguised as nervous tissue.
The development are researchers from the University of Calgary, created a hybrid neurochip that not only is not rejected by the nervous tissue, and are much more sensitive of their counterparts. Hybrid chip makes the device, as it is based on the principles of “biocompatibility” . In other words, connecting with a chip, brain cells perceive it as a part that not only allows the connection to remain stable, but in the future, enables two-way exchange of information.
According to the developers GI-Sayed and Pierre Wijdan, the sensitivity of the new chip is 15 times the sensitivity of other such neural chips. Our chip allows you to read the signals of the nerve cells, strengthen them, and to record brain activity with higher resolution than previously possible. Record activity patterns of nerve cells for a long time allows us to track the changes that occur very low rates. This, in turn, will allow us to establish why some neurons establish connections only with certain neurons and not with the others.
At the moment, the neurochip successfully tested on laboratory animals. If the whole thing succeeds, we can talk about the beginning of a series of experiments on human subjects, however, in this case, the technology will require some work, as the signals sent by the neurons of a person, weaker than in experimental animals, so you will need amplification of the incoming signal. Experiments but scientists are not limited to, as they say,
Our neurochip in the future can be used as a tool with which to develop personalised therapies for patients suffering from various neurological diseases.
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