May 31, 2011 08:07 GMT  ·  By

Investigators in the United States have taken another major step towards the development of advanced neural networks. They announce the creation of brain cell cultures in the lab, in which neurons can communicate with each other, and also display signs of memory formation.

The ring-shaped networks are capable of allowing neurons to send electrical signals from one another, much like they would do in the human brain. This capability is essential for our thought patterns, movements and automated processes such as breathing and heart beat.

Researchers at the University of Pittsburgh are to praise for the creation of these networks, which also demonstrated abilities beyond what was expected of them. In a series of measurements, the experts determined that the cells within remain in a state of persistent activity.

In the human brain, this type of state is associated with memory formation. If this is true for these neural grids true, then the team will have broken a new barrier in biotechnology and engineering.

The research group that made the discovery was coordinated by lead researcher Henry Zeringue, who also holds an appointment as a bioengineering professor at the Pitt Swanson School of Engineering.

According to the expert, past investigations conducted on humans using Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) have demonstrated that neurons in the cortex start to form memories shortly after they are subjected to stimuli.

The mechanism is characterized by extended levels of electrical activity in the cortex, and this is precisely what the Pitt experts saw in their animal models, only to a lesser extent. The work was conducted on neurons harvested from a hippopotamus rat.

The cells were put inside a culture, and were treated with a number of proteins. Experts then added chemicals that shut down the activity of inhibitor cells, and ran an electrical current to the mix.

This step was needed in order to stimulate the growth of the cells, as if they were still in the brain. Experts noticed levels of activity that were statistically significant, although smaller than in the live cortex. This was to be expected, Daily Galaxy reports.

Zeringue explains that, with the help of these neural networks, he was able to sustain electrical activity in the cells for up to 12 seconds, as opposed to the 0.25 seconds it takes for the same activity to fade out in the working brain.

This type of studies will allow experts to understand the transmission of electrical impulses in the brain much better than ever before.