Chip for human memory

Science is back on track to overtake fiction. One of the characters in the sci-fi saga "Barrayar" American writer Lois McMaster Bujold has a unique ability.

He has implanted in his head biosensor chip that not only allows him to remember everything that happens to him at any time, but to "scroll bar" memories when asked, as if watching a video. This technology is extremely useful in question character (Simon Illyan) in its paranoid job as head of the Imperial Security Barrayaran Empire.

In reality, such chips could change the lives of millions of people suffering from various forms of dementia and neurodegenerative diseases. Similar technology can be invaluable for people had a stroke, head injury or any other condition that impairs the brain's ability to store long-term pamet.Dobrata news is that a research group on planet Earth hopes in the near future begin clinical trials of just such an electronic implant. "Memory chip" will be embedded in the hippocampus - the brain region that can roughly be defined as a storage device storing the long-term archive of human memories. The idea of ​​this magical device is to restore the patient's ability to form and store memories.

With the development team is engaged to Dr. Theodore Berger, who is a professor of biomedical engineering and neuroscience at the University of Southern California.

Professor Berger worked in this field for over two decades and is considered one of the leading minds in the field of neural prosthetics and "neural-silicon interface."

Berger is a man with a dream and mission - to create a fully functional "spare parts" for the human brain. Throughout his academic career Professor explores ways in which to form long-term memory and moisture this knowledge in the development of chips that evoke the work of the relevant neural circuits. As a result of long work team Berger has a functional implant that over the next two years will first be tested in experimental animals, and if all goes well in clinical trials with humans.

All this certainly sounds like science fiction. Hence the reputation of Berger as a kind of "mad genius". His colleagues show some skepticism at his audacity. But no one doubts that the professor is able to accomplish what it says it will achieve as long as it is as far as possible.

Source: Science Alert ,https://www.gettyimages.com/