To get around the problem of damaging 10,000 neurons just to connect with 1,000, Biohybrid is experimenting with an approach that makes donor neurons a part of the implant itself - potentially allowing for dramatically better connection scaling.
To get around the problem of damaging 10,000 neurons just to connect with 1,000, Biohybrid is experimenting with an approach that makes donor neurons a part of the implant itself - potentially allowing for dramatically better connection scaling.
This is an interesting question. Just about every announcement I’ve seen so far has been for a read-only interface (for example, a paralyzed person envisioning moving his hand to make a robot arm move), but this Biohybrid one specifically mentions that they applied a signal (light) to the sensor to see if the mice would respond biologically.
Agree, fascinating question. To be precise, they used genetically modified neurons (aka optogenetics) to test if the device can deliver a signal into the brain. Optogenetics incorporates neurons modified with light-sensitive channel proteins, so the neuron activates when a precise wavelength of light is “seen” by the special protein. One of the coolest methods in neuroscience, in my opinion.
“To see if the idea works in practice they installed the device in mice, using neurons genetically modified to react to light. Three weeks after implantation, they carried out a series of experiments where they trained the mice to respond whenever a light was shone on the device. The mice were able to detect when this happened, suggesting the light-sensitive neurons had merged with their native brain cells.”