Researchers at Tel Aviv University were recently able to implant a robotic cerebellum into the skull of a brain-damaged rodent — and effectively restore its capacity for movement. Could robotic cerebellums benefit humans with motor control disorders, too? That's the plan, researchers say.
Professor Matti Mintz of TAU's Department of Psychology created the robotic cerebellum — a chip that, when wired to the brain, receives, interprets, and transmits sensory information between the brain and the body. The researchers taught a brain-damaged rat to blink whenever they sounded a particular tone. The rat could only perform the behavior when its robotic cerebellum was functional.
When the "robo-cerebellum" was implanted in the rat, the rat could perform the behavior successfully once again.
"It's a proof of the concept that we can record information from the brain, analyze it in a way similar to the biological network, and return it to the brain," Mintz said.
This robo-cerebellum could someday lead to electronic implants that replace damaged tissues in the brain.
