neurosciencestuff:

Devices could reveal inner workings of neurons and how they communicate with each other.

Automated assistance may soon be available to neuroscientists tackling the brain’s complex circuitry, according to research presented last week at the Aspen Brain Forum in Colorado. Robots that can find and simultaneously record the activity of dozens of neurons in live animals could help researchers to reveal how connected cells interpret signals from one another and transmit information across brain areas — a task that would be impossible using single-neuron studies.

A robot that can access the internal workings of neurons could be scaled up to allow 100 cells to be studied at a time. MIT McGovern Institute/E. Boyden/Sputnik Animation

The robots are designed to perform whole-cell patch-clamping, a difficult but powerful method that allows neuroscientists to access neurons’ internal electrical workings, says Edward Boyden of the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, who is leading the work.

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