Scientists devise ‘pacemaker’ for brain

WASHINGTON - Disorders such as depression or Parkinson’s may be helped by stimulating certain areas of the brain with controlled precision, says a study, encouraging scientists to create a pacemaker for the brain.

But because controlling that stimulation presently lacks precision, over-stimulation is a serious concern — losing some of its therapeutic benefits for the patient over time.

A Tel Aviv University (TAU) team, part of a European consortium, is delving deep into human behaviour, neurophysiology and engineering to create a chip that can help doctors wire computer applications and sensors to the brain.

The chip will provide deep brain stimulation precisely where and when it’s needed.

Matti Mintz, a TAU professor in psychology is focusing on the behavioural-physiological aspects of the research.

He and his team are working toward a chip that could help treat some diseases of the mind in just a few years.

“The platform is flexible enough to provide a basis for a variety of clinical experiments and tools which can be programmed for specific disorders. For example, the chip could restore lost functions of the brain after a traumatic brain injury from a car accident or stroke,” Mintz says.

The team’s methodology is straightforward - they record activity using electrodes implanted in diseased areas of the brain.

Based on an analysis of this activity, they develop algorithms to simulate healthy neuronal activity which are programmed into a microchip and fed back into the brain.

For now, the chip, called the Rehabilitation Nano Chip (or ReNaChip), is hooked up to tiny electrodes which are implanted in the brain.

But as chips become smaller, the ReNaChip could be made small enough to be “etched” right onto the electrodes themselves, said a university release.

However, for therapeutic purposes, only the electrodes will be inserted into the brain. “The chip itself can be implanted just under the skin, like pacemakers for the heart,” says Mintz, who is currently conducting experiments on animal models, “ensuring that the brain is stimulated only when it needs to be.”