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Scientists Develop Brain-Microchip Bridge

Posted by samzenpus on from the man-and-machine dept.

dreampod writes "Canadian scientists have developed a microchip capable of monitoring the electrical and chemical communication channels between individual neurons. This is the first time scientists have been able to monitor the interaction between brain cells on such a precise and subtle level. In addition to providing the ability to see more easily the impact of drugs on various mental disorders during testing, this provides one of the first fundamental steps towards real mind-machine interface."

2 of 118 comments (clear)

  1. Read the small print by arth1 · · Score: 4, Informative

    Before jumping on this, read the small print.
    They take out a piece of brain tissue, and implant it into the machinery, not the other way around. I'm not sure about you guys, but that kind of interface doesn't seem too useful to me, although it could be useful for diagnosis.

  2. Re:But not in a real brain? by catbutt · · Score: 5, Informative

    Well I'm not sure what you mean by nerve cells vs. neurons (they are the same thing, by my understanding), but for every neuron there might be 1000 synapses, so that might be what you mean. I couldn't tell from the story, though.