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Single Neuron Wired To Muscle Un-Paralyzes Monkeys
GalaticGrub writes "A pair of paralyzed monkeys regained the ability to move their arms after researchers wired individual neurons to the monkeys' arm muscles. A team of researchers at the University of Washington temporarily paralyzed each monkey's arm, then rerouted brain signals from a single neuron in the motor cortex around the blocked nerve pathway via a computer. When the neuron fired above a certain rate, the computer translated the signal into a jolt of electricity to the arm muscle, causing it to contract. The monkeys practiced moving their arms by playing a video game."
"Monkeys learn to play video games." I actually think that's more amazing.
Currently hooked on AMP
Yes. I offer Wikipedia as proof.
"Who's the grad student who had to break those monkeys spines?"
The subjects were actually grad students costumed as monkeys.
Lab monkeys are too valuable to use.
"This post is an artistic work of fiction and falsehood. Only a fool would take anything posted here as fact."
This article explains everything.
As opposed to the mechanical prosthetics that feed information back?
Now we can reuse stuff that's already built in.
*Yes. I offer Conservapedia as proof.*
Fixed that for you.
No one broke the monkeys' spines. The article states that the spinal neurons innervating the wrist muscles were temporarily blocked using a local anesthetic. What's particularly amazing about this study is that the monkeys were able to quickly learn to control their wrists using the cortical neurons that the computer was monitoring, even if those neurons were not involved in control of the wrist before paralysis.
I'm a friend of the paper's author and am certain that neither the researchers nor any sane review board would have allowed monkeys to be permanently injured to perform this study; it just wouldn't be necessary.
Am I the only one who's more interested in the medical significance of this, instead of the silly aspect of monkey-gaming? Holy crap guys, use your brains.
This means that we have the potential to repair neural damage, potentially severe damage as well!
I see particular use with pacemakers. Rather than just pulse the heart at a given frequency, read what the brain wants the heart to do, and do that! You could do the same thing for the lungs as well, although I'm not sure how often someone who damages that nerve makes it to the hospital in time.
Other use could be with amputation victims. Helping restore function to reattached appendages/digits, or controlling prosthesis...
I wonder if, further down the line, it would be possible to do this to sensory nerves as well, not just motor control/response...
For large sets, this will be our guide even unto death, for the LORD will work for each type of data it is applied to...
This is irony:
God, please protect me from your followers.
It's hard to tell in the sea of infinite monkeys that were already here.
After a while, the monkey all start to blend together and become indistinct. :-P
Cheers
Lost at C:>. Found at C.
You've never been a grad student have you?