Rerouting Brain Circuits with Implanted Chips

Here's a pretty cool breakthrough. I think I've blogged about Ciberkinetics, but if I haven't you should check these guys out: http://www.cyberkineticsinc.com/content/index.jsp

Though while Cyberkinetics is connecting brains to computers (to control keyboards and electronic wheelchairs as starting points), these University of Washington (go Dawgs!!) researchers are connecting nerves to other nerves via a computer link. This has many implications, but one of the most immediate applications has to do with people with spinal injuries.

"The findings also have implications for the development of neural prosthetics. For example, the device could be connected directly to the spinal cord or muscle rather than to another part of the brain. "If a person had a spinal-cord injury and the link from brain to muscle is impaired, this connection could bypass that injury and reconnect brain cells to the muscle," says Fetz. His group is currently working on this application. "

http://www.technologyreview.com/read_article.aspx?id=17678&ch=biotech&sc=&pg=2