A voltage-sensitive fluorescent molecule or other imaging agent could provide a more accurate view of activity. But this measurement is once removed from the actual electrical activity of the neuron. When a neuron fires, the amount of calcium inside cells increases, so many research groups use calcium-sensitive fluorescent dyes to study neuron activity. Novel optical techniques could also aid the mapping project. The nanoparticles could also carry molecules that can sense electrical activity, pressure, or even certain chemicals revealing brain activity. Nanoprobes bearing several dozen electrodes, for instance, could be stacked to probe hundreds of thousands of recording sites and transmit data wirelessly.Īlternatively, nanoparticles carrying molecules that bring them to specific cell types could lodge in cell membranes so surgical placement wouldn’t be necessary. Existing sensors can record the electrical activity of neurons, but can typically monitor fewer than 100 neurons at a time.Įmerging micro- and nanofabrication techniques could be used to create smaller chips bearing smaller electrical and even chemical probes that would be less invasive. Developing novel technologies will be necessary to achieve the goals of BRAIN, and these will likely take advantage of recent advances in nanotechnology.
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