Image via flickr / Novartis AG

For the first time in the history of science, two brains have been directly connected to function together. Scienstists at Duke University have faciliitated a connection between two rats via implanted electrodes in the rats’ brains, allowing them to transfer sensory and motor signals from one brain to the other.

The rats worked together to push a lever that would reward them with water. One rat received a lighting cue to indicate which lever he should press. His brain signals were then transmitted to a second rat who did not receive a visual indicator of which lever to press. The second rat pressed the correct lever 70% of the time. A significant learning period (approximately 45 days) was required for the rat to clue into the fact that the knowledge of which lever to push was already in its mind.

Prior to this experiment, Professor Nicolelis was known for his work enabling people with paralysis to communicate with machines, such as robotic arms, using their thoughts. The purpose of this new experiment was to determine whether a receiver rat could interpret and correctly apply the signals received directly from a transmitter rat, but the experiment has larger implications for what scientists will be able to do down the road. Nicolelis hopes to eventually connect additional brains to the system, building a biological computer that could eventually be used as a model for humans “to exchange information across millions of people without using keyboards or voice recognition devices or the type of interfaces that we normally use today.”

[via BBC News]

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Eva Voinigescu is an intern at Toronto Standard. Follow her on Twitter @EvaVoinigescu.

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