This tiny implant sends secret messages to the brain

In a major step forward for neurobiology and bioelectronics, scientists at Northwestern University have created a wireless device that uses light to transmit information directly into the brain. The technology bypasses traditional sensory routes in the body and instead delivers signals straight to neurons.

The device is soft and flexible, fitting beneath the scalp while resting on the skull. From this position, it sends carefully controlled light patterns through the bone to activate specific groups of neurons across the cortex.

Light-Based Brain Signals in Animal Models

During testing, researchers used tiny, precisely timed bursts of light to stimulate targeted populations of neurons deep in the brains of mouse models. (These neurons are genetically modified to ...