A Neurochip That Can Communicate With Brain

[Blaster]

The University of Calgary, Faculty of Medicine scientists who proved
it is possible to cultivate a network of brain cells that reconnect on
a silicon chip—or the brain on a microchip—have developed new
technology that monitors brain cell activity at a resolution never
achieved before.

Developed with the National Research Council Canada (NRC), the new
silicon chips are also simpler to use, which will help future
understanding of how brain cells work under normal conditions and
permit drug discoveries for a variety of neurodegenerative diseases,
such as Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s.
Naweed Syed's lab cultivated brain cells on a microchip.

Naweed Syed's lab cultivated brain cells on a microchip.

The new technology from the lab of Naweed Syed, in collaboration with
the NRC, is published online this month in the journal, Biomedical
Devices.

“This technical breakthrough means we can track subtle changes in
brain activity at the level of ion channels and synaptic potentials,
which are also the most suitable target sites for drug development in
neurodegenerative diseases and neuropsychological disorders,” says
Syed, professor and head of the Department of Cell Biology and
Anatomy, member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute and advisor to the
Vice President Research on Biomedical Engineering Initiative of the U
of C.

The new neurochips are also automated, meaning that anyone can learn
to place individual brain cells on them. Previously it took years of
training to learn how to record ion channel activity from brain cells,
and it was only possible to monitor one or two cells simultaneously.
Now, larger networks of cells can be placed on a chip and observed in
minute detail, allowing the analysis of several brain cells networking
and performing automatic, large-scale drug screening for various brain
dysfunctions.

This new technology has the potential to help scientists in a variety
of fields and on a variety of research projects. Gerald Zamponi,
professor and head of the Department of Physiology and Pharmacology,
and member of the Hotchkiss Brain Institute, says, “This technology
can likely be scaled up such that it will become a novel tool for
medium throughput drug screening, in addition to its usefulness for
basic biomedical research”.