Rerouting Brain Circuits with Implanted Chips

by metavalent

MIT Technology Review: A new brain chip being tested in monkeys could one day reconnect brain areas damaged by stroke or spinal-cord injury. By Emily Singer

Donoghue's chip, which is already being tested in human trials, uses many recording electrodes, but it currently doesn't have the ability to stimulate other parts of the brain or body. (With his device, neural signals are sent to a computer, which decodes the information and uses it to move a cursor on a computer screen. See "Implanting Hope," March 2005, and "Brain Chips Give Paralyzed Patients New Powers.") However, Donoghue says he is currently working on stimulating capabilities as well.