Better Understanding of the Brain

Popular Science details new initiatives that have created, for the first time ever, virtual maps of neural connections in the human brain. The maps—created in two separate studies—used a brain scanning technique called "diffusion imaging," which can be easily done on living, breathing human beings. The method involves following the flow of water molecules along the axons—long fibers of nerve cells—in a subject's brain.

The two teams used basically the same technique to create their maps, one of which is higher resolution than the other, and both found the same clusters of connections in the cerebral cortex, in a region of the brain that uses the most oxygen and glucose, especially when the brain is at rest.

The results of this research will undoubtedly lead to a much greater understanding of the organization and function of the brain, which could lead eventually to better treatments for mental illnesses, paralysis, and brain damage, as well as to such future technologies as mind-machine interfaces.

Mind-Machine Interface Takes a Step Forward

In a laboratory at the University of Southern California, a team of researchers has found a way to engineer a brain implant that can re-create thoughts, Popular Science reports. The revolutionary device could be used to treat brain damage or memory loss.

The chip represents a hardware version of the brain cells in your hippocampus that are crucial to the formation of memory. At the moment, the chip models fewer than 12,000 neurons, compared with the 100 billion or so present in a human brain. Still, even this small number represents a stunning achievement in the field of neuro-engineering.

The next big challenge, the researchers say, is to make the chip fully bidirectional, so that it can both generate and receive signals, just like a real cell.

For anyone (like me) who has a family history of memory loss (at least, I think I do... it's hard to remember...), a device like this could be just what the doctor ordered.