Microchips for Memory

If you've ever considered yourself a nerd (a computer nerd to be exact), then you may have seen a small movie called "Johnny Mnemonic". Based off a William Gibson short story, the film stars Keanu Reeves as a transporter who hides digital information on a computer chip lodged in his brain. Not only did the movie get bad reviews, but the whole idea of putting microchips in someone's brain was considered absolutely ludicrous. However, professors at the Center of Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California are currently working on a silicon chip that mimics the hippocampus, which is know for creating memories. If the project is a success, then it could replace the hippocampus altogether and help those with memory loss disorders.

The hippocampus is not responsible for storing long-term memories. It is, however, responsible for converting short-term memory input into long-term memory output. It's also the part of the brain most commonly affected by head trauma, strokes, epilepsy and Alzheimer's. At the moment, there have been no medical advances to clinically treat damage to the hippocampus.

The researchers began by studying the hippocampus of rats, keeping them alive in certain nutrients. By stimulating the neurons with random computer generated signals and observing the outputs, the scientists were able to find sets of mathematical functions that transform any input into a specific output similar to the hippocampus.

As of right now scientist are predicting at least half a decade before applying their work to humans. However, memory chip prototypes today have a 95% successful input/output pathway, so it won't be long before Johnny Mnemonic comes to life.

Source:

http://www.wired.com/medtech/health/news/2004/10/65422