Scientists at the University of Southern California have unveiled an artificial hippocampus and are planning experiments to determine if it can help replace function in damaged hippocampal tissue. The hippocampus is involved in helping create new memories and its structure has been one of the most studied parts of the brain. The researchers hope their hippocampal prosthesis could help replace memory forming abilities which are lose due to stroke, Alzheimer's, or other brain damage.
The prosthesis is simply an external programmable chip with electrodes placed internally on either side of damaged portions of the hippocampus. Electrical inputs and their corresponding outputs were analyzed and were incorporated into a mathematical model which would simulate hippocampus functions under all possible conditions. This model is subsequently programmed into the prosthesis' chip. The researchers believe only slight modifications would be needed to adapt models across different species from rats to monkeys to humans.
There are some ethical complications involved in such a prosthesis. The hippocampus is teeming with estrogen and testosterone receptors and it seems that mood and emotions are innately involved in forming short term memories and helping to strengthen those into long term memories. Can a programmable chip adequately mimic the hippocampus in these situations? Will the chip create long term memories that a person would rather forget? As one scientist says "Forgetting is the most beneficial process we possess."
News source: Ars Technica
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