Ratbots Summary: Scientists have placed electrodes inside rats’ brains to control them like robots.
Comment: Electrodes are placed in the portion of the brain that processes inputs from the whiskers and another in the reward center of the brain. A laptop sends a remote signal to stimulate the left whisker. The rat turns left and the reward center of the brain is stimulated. Simple. What is really cool is that since the rat is still in control, it can climb complicated structures without having to have the computer direct every step. The more I thought about this, the more I realized that this happens every day to billions of living beings around the world. Isn’t this exactly what TV does to us? Turn to the right channel and the pleasure center of the brain is stimulated by sex, action, drama, horror…whatever image excites you.