AN INTRODUCTION TO NANOCOMPUTING - Bio-Inspired and Nanoscale Integrated Computing - page 26

Through electrophysiological measurements of brain activity, made possible
by nanowires, important signal propagation through individual neurons and
neural networks can be understood. Sophisticated networks between the brain and
external prosthetic technology can be produced through this revolutionary
manipulative technique. Much of this technology has great potential in the field
because it can be used to monitor signaling among larger networks of nerve cells,
thereby allowing doctors to detect electrical activity going on between neurons,
tumors, and brain abnormalities; to localize seizures; and to pinpoint damage
caused by injuries and stroke [47]. Eventually, the technology will be used to detect
the diverse kinds of neurotransmitters that leap synapses from neuron to neuron.
The mystery behind many neural system disabilities such as mental illnesses and
certain paralysis diseases could be unraveled with this amazing invention in the
scientific community.
Working at the molecular level with nanowires still has its shortcomings and is
an incredible challenge in the field of neuroscience and nanocomputing. The
extremely intricate composition of the CNS poses obvious challenges to nano-
computing's applications in neuroscience. Specifically, these include cellular
heterogeneity and multi-dimensional cellular interactions which explain the basis
of its extremely complex information processing [43]. There is also the challenge of
guiding nanowire probes to a predetermined location among the thousands of
capillary branches in the human brain that reside in the brain's vascular system.
And because it is considerably more difficult to manipulate materials on the
nanoscale level, it is also difficult to measure the electrical and mechanical
properties of the nanomaterials themselves.
Along with developing the functions of engineered machinery to carry out
neural regeneration, neuroprotection, and other tasks of the sort, there is an evident
need for precise and proper synthesis of such machinery. These ''tailored nano-
technologies'' cannot provide any solution to neurobiological complications unless
they are designed by the most skilled and competent specialists, which in this case is
not the role of the neuroscientist [44]. We know that materials scientists, chemists,
and specialists of other similar disciplines have, unlike neuroscientists, devoted their
careers to the synthesis of such technologies. Neuroscientists in turn contribute to
this interdisciplinary science through their wealth of knowledge in neurobiology,
neuropathology, and other areas. In this topic, an implementation of neural
network with nanotechnology is studied in Chapter 17. Evidently, these challenges
have the potential to improve what may have otherwise been overlooked in
synthesizing machinery. Often such obstacles help us to be more focused on the
safety behind clinical neuroscience advancements.
1.7.2. Current Work and Research
Functional nanotechnology, including nanocomputing, is still at its infancy stages,
with numerous institutions of various scientific fields finding ways to make
nanotechnology as safe and effective as can be. The government has given
research grants to scientists from different universities such as Brown, Stanford,