Computer Chips Wired With Nerve Cells

PRLog (Press Release)– Aug 01, 2011– Technological advancements in the field of neuroscience and computer science have led to the potential of interfacing neuronal tissues with electronic devices. This breakthrough is an important step in bridging the boundaries of computer and brain, even advancing the current research being conducted on diseases of the nervous system. Testing possible drug interaction and side-effects is another promising goal of wiring nerve cells into computer chips.

Researchers working at the University of Wisconsin in Madison are working to create a hybrid system of neurons and silicon. The technique was discovered when engineers, using nerve cells from mice, designed a technique to weave those cells into a network of semiconductor tubes that had been coated in silicon and germanium in order to protect and insulate the signals of electricity sent out from the nerves. The semiconductor tubes used were of a variety of sizes, but were not large enough for the main body of the cell to fit. This enabled the extensions of the nerve cells to intertwine through.

The semiconductor tubes were germinated with mouse nerve cells in the hope they would venture out, making a path of thin protrusions throughout the tubes, perhaps even following the helical tunnel curves. While the hope is that the nerves are capable of more than simply exploring the semiconductor tubes, it is yet unknown if the nerves are able to do more than physically link. Nerves in the body send electrical signals or pulses to one another, but until researchers are able to use sensors to detect voltage that would indicate such electrical pulses, it will remain a mystery. Further research is an exciting prospect for those with Parkinson's disease, multiple sclerosis, and many other nerve diseases as well as injuries that have caused nerve damage, as studies can be carried out to understand more about the malfunctioning nerves that play a part of such disorders.

Many neuroengineers are intrigued by the possibilities and challenges that lay ahead in the field of research in creating prosthetic devices and artificial limbs that can respond to the person by way of thought manipulation. As researchers from other universities work on ways of stimulating nerve responses by way of laser light and then recording the subsequent responses, the work is coming a remote control helicopter long quite nicely. However, there is a long way to go as many of the biomedical engineering and neurological research teams are working independently of one another, making it difficult to combine the efforts and progress.

best rc helicopter buy sell market place >The future of these technological breakthroughs is making science fictional-type creations a distinct possibility. Building an array of nerves infused with fiber optics into a prosthetic limb to be controlled by the brain would be the ultimate in interfacing man with machine.

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