In a lab dish, the brain cells or neurons began firing simultaneously "like a power surge lighting up a building," said Jason Weick, an assistant scientist...Here's what it looked like:
Weick said the use of light stimulation, called optogenetics, raises the possibility of modifying transplanted brain cells, in effect turning them up or down like the dimmer control on a light....
In the experiments with live mice, the UW researchers anesthetized the animals, inserted a needle into precise areas of the brain and injected the human neurons. The scientists selected a target for the cells where the brain's architecture is well defined and the cells would have a good chance to integrate into the circuitry: the mouse hippocampus. The hippocampus is the part of the brain in which memories are formed, organized and stored.
Man, I may need a dimmer switch for my brain... to modulate the fear.
Or... what am I saying? Hooray for the University of Wisconsin, and onward to treating Parkinson's and Lou Gehrig's diseases.
IN THE COMMENTS: Ignorance is Bliss said: "She tried to warn you, but would you listen?"
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