Tweet
Score one for William Gibson: Johnny Mnemonic's wetware isn't as far off as most people think.
NeuroTech Business Reports
Scientific American article (3 page *.pdf)
Popular Science article (9 page *.pdf)
More articles at;
NEURAL-PROSTHESIS.COM
NeuroTech Business Reports
Neural-Silicon Hybrids Point to New Era in Technology
Direct interfaces between small networks of nerve cells and synthetic devices promise to advance our understanding of neuronal function and may yield a new generation of hybrid devices that exploit the computational capacities of biological neural networks. There are several research teams in the U.S. and Europe that are currently working on so-called neural-silicon hybrid chips.
>
One of the most celebrated researchers in the field is Ted Berger at the Center for Neural Engineering at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Berger is also a key player in the newly established National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center devoted to biomimetic microelectronics [NBR Jan04 p1].
Berger has set his sights on building artificial neural cells, initially to act as a cortical prosthesis for individuals who have lost brain cells to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. But eventually, his lab’s efforts may usher in a new era in biologically inspired computing and information processing.
Berger’s strategy in building artificial neurons has been an empirical one. Rather than attempt to determine every aspect of how neurons communicate, he’s chosen to emulate their behavior, bombarding live neurons from rat hippocampus tissue with every conceivable type of electrical input, and observe what output emerges from the cell. His team at USC then built a silicon microcircuit that behaves accordingly, at least in terms of spatio-temporal patterns of electrical inputs and outputs. The USC team has built circuits that model 100 neurons; their goal is to construct a 10,000-neuron chip model for implantation in primate hippocampus.
Direct interfaces between small networks of nerve cells and synthetic devices promise to advance our understanding of neuronal function and may yield a new generation of hybrid devices that exploit the computational capacities of biological neural networks. There are several research teams in the U.S. and Europe that are currently working on so-called neural-silicon hybrid chips.
>
One of the most celebrated researchers in the field is Ted Berger at the Center for Neural Engineering at University of Southern California in Los Angeles. Berger is also a key player in the newly established National Science Foundation Engineering Research Center devoted to biomimetic microelectronics [NBR Jan04 p1].
Berger has set his sights on building artificial neural cells, initially to act as a cortical prosthesis for individuals who have lost brain cells to neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s. But eventually, his lab’s efforts may usher in a new era in biologically inspired computing and information processing.
Berger’s strategy in building artificial neurons has been an empirical one. Rather than attempt to determine every aspect of how neurons communicate, he’s chosen to emulate their behavior, bombarding live neurons from rat hippocampus tissue with every conceivable type of electrical input, and observe what output emerges from the cell. His team at USC then built a silicon microcircuit that behaves accordingly, at least in terms of spatio-temporal patterns of electrical inputs and outputs. The USC team has built circuits that model 100 neurons; their goal is to construct a 10,000-neuron chip model for implantation in primate hippocampus.
Supplementing the human brain with computer power has been a staple of science fiction. But in fact, researchers have taken several steps in melding minds with machines, and this spring a team from the University of Southern California may replace damaged brain tissue in rats with a neural prosthesis.
The Memory Hacker
Ted Berger has spent the past decade engineering a brain implant that can re-create thoughts. The chip could remedy everything from Alzheimer’s to absent-mindedness—and reduce memory loss to nothing more than a computer glitch.
Ted Berger has spent the past decade engineering a brain implant that can re-create thoughts. The chip could remedy everything from Alzheimer’s to absent-mindedness—and reduce memory loss to nothing more than a computer glitch.
NEURAL-PROSTHESIS.COM