Neuroscientists have created a "live" computer
Last reviewed: 17.10.2021
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Neurophysiologists from the private research university in North Carolina managed to connect the brain of several animals into a single system. As a result, some kind of local network turned out, and the animals were able to jointly solve the task assigned to them more effectively than one individual.
The researchers themselves say that their research clearly shows that it is possible to create an interacting system with the possibility of "joint connection", the scientists hope that such a system will develop and, eventually, reach the moment when clinical trials with human participation begin.
Experts noted that this invention may well become useful in medicine. The study involved Miguel Nicoleles, who was one of the first to work in the field of neuroprosthetics. For several years he worked on the creation of microscopic chips, special electrodes and programs that could be inserted into the brain and controlled through them not only by artificial limbs or eyes, but also by thermal imagers, X-rays, etc.
A couple of years ago, Nikoleis and his colleagues managed to do the impossible and unite the brain of two rats that were thousands of kilometers away from each other, with a kind of local network and the animals were able to transfer information to each other from a distance.
Recently, Nikoleis's research team was able to develop new models of the collective neurointerface. One of the models involves uniting the brain of several monkeys in a single network, and the second allowed to create a "live" computer from several rats.
The first model showed its performance after three rhesus macaques, whose brains were integrated into a single network, were able to monitor the movement of the virtual arm on the monitor screen. Each of the monkeys controlled one of the axes of the movement. Seven hundred electrodes that connected the brain of three animals allowed them not only to communicate to each other information about the location of the hand, but to jointly direct it.
The animals took a little time to learn how to control the virtual arm, while the three monkeys did it almost as well as one.
The second model of the Nikoleis research group showed that living organisms can be combined into a kind of computer: four rats were able to predict the weather and solve simple computational tasks.
According to the researchers themselves, they managed to prove by their work that the nervous system of several living organisms can be combined into a single system. The animal model shows that several individuals are able to solve more complex problems that are often beyond the power of one, as can be clearly seen in the example of four rats whose rain predictions turned out to be more accurate, in addition, thanks to the unification of the brain, rats were able to solve complex problems an order of magnitude faster .
Now the team of Nicoleleys together with other neurophysiologists are developing a method for conducting experiments involving people. Combining several people into a single network will "teach" paralyzed people or people with disabilities to use a prosthesis or re-walk, which is of great importance from a medical point of view.