Researchers create less invasive method for placing brain electrodes

Engadget ----------- Our neurons are firing all the time, receiving signals from other neurons and sending signals of their own. To get a better understanding of how the brain works, scientists often listen in to those signals to see what kind of messages certain neurons send and how often they send them. Doing that often requires researchers to implant an electrode into the brain, which when it's close enough to a neuron, can pick up on the electrical signals that propagate through the neuron. However, getting an electrode into the brain isn't so easy. They either have to be rigid enough to penetrate the brain and remain straight or be inserted through needles that can keep them straight until they're safely in place. The problem is those rigid structures cause damage as they move through the brain and minimizing that damage is a goal that scientists are constantly working towards. To learn more click on the picture below to read the article.