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Posted by: Draco18s Mar 1 2013, 10:41 AM

Just heard the announcement on BBC Radio, googled the news, here's a link:

http://science.nbcnews.com/_news/2013/02/28/17123686-two-rats-thousands-of-miles-apart-cooperate-telepathically-via-brain-implant?lite

Posted by: Lionhearted Mar 1 2013, 02:10 PM

Remote brain control, great...
I've heard of a similar project a year or so ago, it was using implanted chips that apparently gave the rats an empathic bond (as in, if one of them was stimulated the other would express similar behaviour/readings) they touted telepathy, I found it a stretch to call it that.

Posted by: DamHawke Mar 1 2013, 02:48 PM

Rudimentary data jack almost looks like a modified USB-thingy o_0

But what I'm really interested in is how the rat's brains are understanding the encoded signals though; article talks a lot about training rats.

Posted by: Draco18s Mar 1 2013, 03:25 PM

Each rat is only trained insomuch as to treat the electrical impulses it receives as a trigger. That is, the rats aren't aware of each other in any sense of the word.

The practical application of this technology is to provide tactile feedback on replacement limbs.