脑中植入迷你照相机记录记忆的形成

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Japan researchers put tiny camera in mouse's brain

TOKYO (Reuters) - Japanese researchers have implanted a small camera inside a mouse's brain to see how memory is formed, in an experiment they hope to some day apply to humans to treat illnesses such as Parkinson's disease.

The study, published in the \"Journal of Neuroscience Methods\" and \"Sensors and Actuators\", used a camera 3 mm (0.1 inch) long, 2.3 mm wide and 2.4 mm in depth, said Jun Ohta, professor at Nara Institute of Science and Technology in western Japan.

Working with researchers at Kinki University, Ohta implanted the special semiconductor camera inside the hippocampus of the mouse's brain, designing the devise so that a screen showed blue light whenever the camera captured memory being recorded by the brain.

The researchers injected the mouse with a substance that lights up whenever there is brain activity. The camera then captures that light and the visuals come up on a screen.

The team now plans to use the camera while the mouse is walking.

\"We are thinking about how to apply this to humans, though we must be very careful, as it involves implanting something into the brain,\" Ohta told Reuters. \"It would take 10 years at the earliest.\"

The researchers hope the study will lead to new ways to treat Parkinson's disease, as they aim to have the camera track brain activity that trigger symptoms such as tremors.

http://www.reuters.com/article/healthNews/idUST7718020080131
主标题:脑内植入微型相机有望找到帕金森氏病治疗新法
副标题:微型相机置入脑内,\"拍摄\"记忆活动

东京(路透社)消息:一项试验中,日本研究人员们将一架小型相机植入老鼠脑内以探究记忆如何形成.他们希望由此,能在将来的某一天找到治疗诸如帕金森氏病等疾患的方法.
研究发布在\"神经科学方法杂志\"及\"传感器及驱动器学报\"上.由来自日本西部地区的奈良先端科学技术大学院大学(NAIST)的Jun Ohta教授与Kinki大学的研究人员们合作进行.

研究策略:
1,使用的是长X宽X高为3X2.3X2.4mm的半导体照相机.
2,先将这个特制相机植入老鼠海马内,当相机捕捉到记忆活动的时候,该装置的屏幕上会显示出蓝光.
3,再在老鼠体内注射一种物质,该物质在脑活动的时候会发光;然后,内植相机就会发现这一情况,并在屏幕上显示出来.

研究展望:
1,该研究团队目前正计划在老鼠行走的时候使用该相机.
2,未来10年内,拟将该内植相机技术运用于人类,以研究诸如\"追踪触发PD震颤症状的脑活动\",从而有可能会找到治疗PD等疾患的新思路.