The mammalian brain is that the most complex organ within the body, capable of processing thousands of stimuli simultaneously to research patterns, predict changes and generate highly measured action. How the brain does all this -- within fractions of a second -- remains largely unknown.
Implants that will probe the brain at the individual neuron level aren't widely available to researchers. Studying neuron activity while the body is in motion in an everyday setting is even harder because monitoring devices typically involve wires connecting a study participant to an impact station.
Researchers at the University of Arizona, Washington University and Northwestern University have created an ultra-small, wireless, battery-free device that uses light to record individual neurons so neuroscientists can see how the brain is functioning. The technology is detailed during a study within the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"As biomedical engineers, we are working with collaborators in neuroscience to enhance tools to raised understand the brain, specifically how these individual neurons -- the building blocks of the brain -- interact with one another while we move through the planet around us," said lead study author Alex Burton, a University of Arizona computer engineering career doctoral student and member of the Gutruf Lab.
The process first involves tinting select neurons with a dye that changes in brightness counting on activity. Then, the device shines a light-weight on the dye, making the neurons' biochemical processes visible. The device captures the changes employing a probe only slightly wider than a person's hair, then processes an immediate readout of the neuron's activity and transmits the knowledge wirelessly to researchers.
"The device is smaller than one M&M and only one-twentieth of the load," Burton said.
The device is often tiny, and even flexible sort of a sheet of paper because it doesn't need A battery. It harvests energy from external oscillating magnetic fields gathered by a miniature antenna on the device. this enables researchers to review brain activity without the utilization of restrictive equipment and provides neuroscientists a platform to realize insight into the underpinning mechanisms of the brain.
Implants that will probe the brain at the individual neuron level aren't widely available to researchers. Studying neuron activity while the body is in motion in an everyday setting is even harder because monitoring devices typically involve wires connecting a study participant to an impact station.
Researchers at the University of Arizona, Washington University and Northwestern University have created an ultra-small, wireless, battery-free device that uses light to record individual neurons so neuroscientists can see how the brain is functioning. The technology is detailed during a study within the Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences.
"As biomedical engineers, we are working with collaborators in neuroscience to enhance tools to raised understand the brain, specifically how these individual neurons -- the building blocks of the brain -- interact with one another while we move through the planet around us," said lead study author Alex Burton, a University of Arizona computer engineering career doctoral student and member of the Gutruf Lab.
The process first involves tinting select neurons with a dye that changes in brightness counting on activity. Then, the device shines a light-weight on the dye, making the neurons' biochemical processes visible. The device captures the changes employing a probe only slightly wider than a person's hair, then processes an immediate readout of the neuron's activity and transmits the knowledge wirelessly to researchers.
"The device is smaller than one M&M and only one-twentieth of the load," Burton said.
The device is often tiny, and even flexible sort of a sheet of paper because it doesn't need A battery. It harvests energy from external oscillating magnetic fields gathered by a miniature antenna on the device. this enables researchers to review brain activity without the utilization of restrictive equipment and provides neuroscientists a platform to realize insight into the underpinning mechanisms of the brain.
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