Scientists make monkeys smarter using brain implants

[Fortune]

I couldn't really distill down the actual title so I used io9's framing.

Here's the study.

Abstract:

Objective. Maintenance of cognitive control is a major concern for many human disease conditions; therefore, a major goal of human neuroprosthetics is to facilitate and/or recover the cognitive function when such circumstances impair appropriate decision making.

Approach. Minicolumnar activity from the prefrontal cortex (PFC) was recorded from nonhuman primates trained to perform a delayed match to sample (DMS), via custom-designed conformal multielectrode arrays that provided inter-laminar recordings from neurons in the PFC layer 2/3 and layer 5. Such recordings were analyzed via a previously demonstrated nonlinear multi-input–multi-output (MIMO) neuroprosthesis in rodents, which extracted and characterized multicolumnar firing patterns during DMS performance.

Main results. The MIMO model verified that the conformal recorded individual PFC minicolumns responded to entrained target selections in patterns critical for successful DMS performance. This allowed the substitution of task-related layer 5 neuron firing patterns with electrical stimulation in the same recording regions during columnar transmission from layer 2/3 at the time of target selection. Such stimulation improved normal task performance, but more importantly, recovered performance when applied as a neuroprosthesis following the pharmacological disruption of decision making in the same task.

Significance. These findings provide the first successful application of neuroprosthesis in the primate brain designed specifically to restore or repair the disrupted cognitive function.

Here's the PDF.

Here's io9's story.

For the very first time, scientists have demonstrated that a brain implant can improve thinking ability in primates. By implanting an electrode array into the cerebral cortex of monkeys, researchers were able to restore — and even improve — their decision-making abilities. The implications for possible therapies are far-reaching, including potential treatments for cognitive disorders and brain injuries. But there's also the possibility that this could lead to implants that could boost your intelligence. Here's how they did it.

Sounds promising. I don't have much to add right now, but I wanted to post this.

[ginniebean]

Oh geez, I'm already smarter than a monkey!

[Fortune]

Seriously, it looks like the treatment described in the paper would help with executive dysfunction.

[ginniebean]

I guess the question would then be would you volunteer for a slice and dice?

[Drewbacca]

Holy Frankenstein!!! Or would that be Monkeystein, Apestein, or Ben Stein?

[ginniebean]

Is this how the planet of the apes started?

(I know this is spretty impressive stuff but it does tweak my funny bone)