Record and manipulate live neurons, control machines with your nervous system, and vice-versa. In this semilab we will explore how computers and pharmacology can be integrated with live brains (to create a "cybernetic organism," or "cyborg"), in ways that may one day allow paralyzed humans to walk.
Please note that in this semilab students will be performing carefully-supervised neurosurgery on anesthetized animals (cockroaches, grasshoppers, worms). Thus students who participate must have the emotional maturity and self-control to be able to handle live insects and complete the tasks in a manner that is ethical to the animals involved, and should be comfortable with administering and receiving mild electrical stimulation to their arms.