Aug 25, 2021 07:21 AM
https://singularityhub.com/2021/08/23/ne...locations/
INTRO: Today’s brain implants are bulky and can typically only record from one or two locations. Now researchers have shown that a network of tiny “neurograins” can be used to wirelessly record and stimulate neurons in multiple locations in rat brains.
Researchers have been experimenting with brain computer interfaces (BCIs) that can record and stimulate groups of neurons for decades. But in recent years there has been growing interest in using them to treat diseases like epilepsy, Parkinson’s, or various psychiatric disorders.
More speculatively, some think they could soon be implanted in healthy people to help us monitor our brain function and even boost it. Last year, Elon Musk said brain implants being built by his startup Neuralink will one day be like “a Fitbit in your skull.” First, though, they will have to get much more accurate and far less obtrusive.
New research led by a team at Brown University has made significant strides on that latter problem by developing tiny implants measuring less than 0.1 cubic millimeters. The implants can both record and stimulate brain activity; these “neurograins” can be combined to create a network of implants that can be controlled and powered wirelessly.
“One of the big challenges in the field of brain-computer interfaces is engineering ways of probing as many points in the brain as possible,” Arto Nurmikko, who led the research, said in a press release. “Up to now, most BCIs have been monolithic devices—a bit like little beds of needles. Our team’s idea was to break up that monolith into tiny sensors that could be distributed across the cerebral cortex.” (MORE)
INTRO: Today’s brain implants are bulky and can typically only record from one or two locations. Now researchers have shown that a network of tiny “neurograins” can be used to wirelessly record and stimulate neurons in multiple locations in rat brains.
Researchers have been experimenting with brain computer interfaces (BCIs) that can record and stimulate groups of neurons for decades. But in recent years there has been growing interest in using them to treat diseases like epilepsy, Parkinson’s, or various psychiatric disorders.
More speculatively, some think they could soon be implanted in healthy people to help us monitor our brain function and even boost it. Last year, Elon Musk said brain implants being built by his startup Neuralink will one day be like “a Fitbit in your skull.” First, though, they will have to get much more accurate and far less obtrusive.
New research led by a team at Brown University has made significant strides on that latter problem by developing tiny implants measuring less than 0.1 cubic millimeters. The implants can both record and stimulate brain activity; these “neurograins” can be combined to create a network of implants that can be controlled and powered wirelessly.
“One of the big challenges in the field of brain-computer interfaces is engineering ways of probing as many points in the brain as possible,” Arto Nurmikko, who led the research, said in a press release. “Up to now, most BCIs have been monolithic devices—a bit like little beds of needles. Our team’s idea was to break up that monolith into tiny sensors that could be distributed across the cerebral cortex.” (MORE)