Computer electronics meet animal brains

Abstract

Although digital computers and nerve tissue both use voltage waveforms to transmit and process information, engineers and neurobiologists have yet to cohesively link the electronic signaling of digital computers with the electronic signaling of nerve tissue in freely behaving animals. Recent advances will finally let us link computer circuitry to neural cells in live animals and, in particular, to reidentifiable cells with specific, known neural functions. By enabling neuroscientists to better understand the neural basis of behavior, these devices may someday lead to neural prosthetics, hardware-based human-computer interfaces, and artificial systems that incorporate principles of biological intelligence.