Cyborg Rats Curing Brain Diseases - Tel Aviv University Research

A team of researchers at Tel Aviv University, Israel is working on an international project to help people suffering from Parkinson's disease and strokes. The project is a result of research work in mixed bag of areas, namely nanotechnology, biology, informatics and cognitive science. The project aims at interchanging the badly affected brain tissue with a microchip. For conducting this experiment, the set-up included a microchip installed under the rat's skull and a set of electrodes inserted in the rat's brain. The microchip starts receiving sensory information from the brain and analyses it the way a non-damaged brain tissue would. After this is done, the information is sent back. Now you know, why we are calling it 'cyborg rats'.

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Tel Aviv researchers worked on the rat's cerebellum, the area that controls motor movements, such as learning how to blink in response to a stimulus. The rat would react in the same way if a jet of air is sent across it's face. Interestingly, if particular sound of air passing is recorded and played a couple of times, the rat will blink even if there is no air brushing it's face. Prof Matti Mintz, a psychobiologist, Tel Aviv University feels that the most challenging part of their project was to get the artificial portion of the cerebellum to receive one set of signals and send out an entirely different set of commands. He also thinks that it will amazing if we can replace the a damaged region of brain that controls one simple motor movement (for which there is no cure at the moment), it will be pathbreaking. And if this team's research works out well, we may not have to wait for long.

On the other hand, taking a firm stand against using living rats for these experiments, the National Anti-Vivisection Society slashed the project saying, "Lives are (being) wasted on dubious and ego-driven experiments." So, now 'to do or not to do' is the question.

Source: Controversial cyborg rat tests target brain treatments - BBC News Image Credit: #-Link-Snipped-#

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