A team of researchers co-led by the University of Pennsylvania has developed and tested a high-resolution, ultra-thin device capable of recording brain activity from the cortical surface without having to use penetrating electrodes. The device could open the door to a new generation of brain-computer interfaces for treating neurological and psychicatric illness and research.

Composed of 720 silicon nanomembrane transistors in a multiplexed 360-channel array, the newly designed device can be positioned not only on the brain surface but also inside sulci and fissures or even between the cortical hemispheres, areas that are physically inaccessible to conventional rigid electrode arrays. Current arrays also require separate wires for each individual sensor, meaning that they can sample broad regions of the brain with low resolution or small regions with high resolution, but not both. The multiplexed sensors of the new device can cover a much larger brain area with high resolution, while using almost 10 times fewer wires.

In animal models, researchers observed responses to visual stimuli and recorded previously unknown details of sleep patterns and brain activity during brain seizures. These patterns are similar to those seen in the heart during ventricular fibrillation, raising the possibility of fighting epilepsy with some of the same methods used to treat cardiac arrhythmias, like focal destruction or ablation of abnormal circuits.

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Also: Scientists have reconstructed movies based on people’s memories – a breakthrough that could advance the development of future brain-machine interfaces.