The Sea Cucumber Inspires Brain Implant Research

The Sea Cucumber, for those who haven’t already researched them are very interesting creatures. They are so interesting in fact, they have given inspiration to researchers for developing certain brain implants. With these brain implants, they could be on track to finding a cure for Parkinson’s Disease and other brain abnormalities.

Researchers are specifically looking a the defense mechanism that Sea Cucumbers use. What a Sea Cucumber can do is change the stiffness of its’ skin. When it’s at a calm state, the creature is very soft and but when it feels threatened it can immediately stiffen its’ skin to repel predators. It’s this action that has led to the research of a material that can act in the same manner as the Sea Cucumbers.

The material that the researchers are developing is a blend of cellulose fibers and a synthetic polymer. The make-up of the blend might be very similar to the Sea Cucumber, but the process of softening and hardening is quite different. With the Sea Cucumbers, its’ rigidity is formed by attachments to its’ nervous system. With the synthetic version created by the researches, the material’s rigidity is determined by the presence and absence of water. When it’s in a dry form, the material is rigid and is held together by hydrogen bonds. When it is exposed to water, it softens by the water’s attraction to the cellulose.

So how can the material itself help with brain implants? Well, current brain implant research is trying to devise a way to reconstruct nervous systems. The electrodes they are using to connect nerve cells in the brain are deteriorating in their animal subjects.The hypothesis for the problem is that the electrodes they are using to connect nerve cells in the brain are too rigid. Dr. Weder, a researcher for the project explains, “There is a mechanical mismatch - the electrode is rigid but the brain is more like jello”

So if you haven’t already put the equation together, it’s possible that the synthetic polymer created could be used to increase the quality of the electrodes. The researchers think that the substance could stay rigid, making it easier to put into the brain, then soften once implanted. Therefore solving the problem of of the rigid electrodes.