Brain chip’ may treat Alzheimer’s

Such implants can help the brain recover after damage. 
 

Scientists develop material that can allow cells to grow and form predictable neural circuits

Scientists, led by an Indian-origin researcher, have developed a new material that could allow

brain cells to grow and form predictable circuits, an advance that may lead to the

development of neural implants.

Such implants can help the brain recover after damage due to an accident, stroke or

degenerative neurological diseases such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s, researchers said.

A team from Australian National University (ANU) grew the ‘brain-on-a-chip’ — brain cells

— on a semiconductor wafer patterned with nano wires that act as a scaffold to guide their

growth.

The scaffold provides a platform to study the growth of the brain cells and how they connect

with each other, said lead researcher Vini Gautam from ANU.

By using a particular nano wire geometry, researchers showed that the neurons are highly

interconnected and predictably form functional circuits.

“The project will provide new insights into the development of neuro-prosthetics, which can

help the brain recover after damage due to an accident, stroke or degenerative neurological

diseases,” Ms. Gautam said.

Neuro-prosthetics

The study is the first to show the neuronal circuits grown on the nano wire scaffolds were

functional and highly interconnected, opening the potential to apply their scaffold design for

neuro-prosthetics, researchers said.

They hope to use the brain-on-a-chip to understand how neurons in the brain form computing

circuits and eventually process information.

“Unlike other prosthetics like an artificial limb, neurons need to connect synaptically, which

form the basis of information processing in the brain during sensory input, cognition, learning

and memory,” said Vincent Daria from Australian National University.

The study was published in the journal Nano Letters.

Source: The Times of India