Not long ago, mark Zuckerberg had sold Facebook shares worth 30 million dollars. Then someone even thought about the fact that the founder of Facebook wants to move away from managing their own company. But it is now clear why it was done. Mr. Zuckerberg needed money to Finance the ambitious project, called the “Initiative of the Chan-Zuckerberg” (Chan Zuckerberg Initiative, CZI), which aims to develop brain implants for the treatment of certain diseases.
One aspect of the CZI includes the design of the interface “brain-machine”. That is the device that translates thoughts into commands. This wireless brain implant that can record, stimulate and manage traffic in real-time. According to the editors of the journal Nature, the team of scientists working in this program I have managed to create such a device and implant it in the Primate brain. Scientists themselves call such an intervention “therapy”, because it is intended for the treatment of diseases such as epilepsy or Parkinson’s disease.
“Our device is able to control the Primate brain.” said co-author, Professor of computer science and engineering at the University of California Ricky Mueller. “The use of interfaces brain-machine has far-reaching consequences: while some researchers focus on their use to help people with spinal cord injuries or other diseases that affect movement, we want this interaction resembled work with laptops and smartphones.”
The device itself received the name of Cortera. And during the experiment the animal had to move the cursor to the target on the screen with the joystick and hold it there for a certain period of time. On top of the head monkey at that time was a wireless device the size of a palm, connected directly to her brain. The gadget can record, stimulate and alter the behavior of monkeys in real time.
“Right now we can take a certain motor function, learn how it works and even control it. I believe that this device opens up opportunities for new types of treatment.” the Professor said Mueller in an interview with Business Insider.
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