Will it be a next -generation brain computer interface?Perhaps a fine chip embeds in the brain has hidden

People who have damaged the brain and spinal cord may recover their communication skills and motor functions by the BCI in the future, and live more independently.

But at the moment, the BCI is not that practical.Most of the setups are complicated and can only be used in the lab.In addition, there is a limit to the type of movement that people with brain implants can handle because the neurons that the brain implant can be recorded at once can be recorded at once.

The most widely used BCI Uta Lay Electrode is a mechanism that pierces the brain tissue with 100 silicon needles with electrodes at the tip, like Kenzan.Yutalay Electrode is as large as Abraham Lincoln's face engraved on a single cent coin in the United States, and can record hundreds of neurons around the stabbed location.

Gap with the ultimate goal

However, many of the brain functions that researchers, such as memories, languages, and decision -making, are related to neuron networks widely distributed throughout the brain.

"It is necessary to study brain functions on a brain system Rever to understand how these functions actually work," says Contel Plat, Associate Professor of the Faculty of Psychology, Washington.She has developed a non -invasive BCI that she attaches to her head and has not participated in the New Login project.

If more neurons can be recorded, more detailed exercise control will be possible, expanding the possibilities of devices that control the brain.If you use neurograin for animals, you will be able to understand the mechanism where different areas of the brain are in contact with each other."If you want to understand the function of the brain, it is much more important to understand the overall functions of each part," he said.

According to Florian Zorzbach, a co -founder and president of BlackRock Neurotech, which is developing Uta Ray Electrode, a system that distributes embedded devices in the brain to enable basic motor functions and computers.It may not be necessary for many applications.But in future applications, such as recovery of memory and cognition, you will definitely need more complex systems.

"Of course, the ultimate goal is the technology that can record as many neurons as possible from the entire brain, from the surface of the brain to deep," says Zorzbach."But do you need so much complicated thing? Probably not, but it is still better from the viewpoint of brain understanding and future application of technology."

Zorzbach points out that smaller sensors reduce brain damage.At present, it is already small, but it may cause inflammation and scars around the embedded place.

"In general, small ones are more difficult to recognize as foreign matter due to the immune system," says Zolzbach, who has not participated in the study.When the body recognizes foreign substances such as debris, it tries to dissolve it and destroy it, or try to wrap it in a scar tissue.

How to put the microchip into the brain

But Zorzbach warns that just because the smaller is a smaller is not a safe and reliable thing.Even a small implant can cause an immune reaction, so neurograin also needs to be made with biological compatible materials.