A team of researchers at the Nicolelis Laboratory based in the Duke University have given rats the ability to perceive infrared light, normally invisible to them. They attached an infrared detector to the head wired to microscopic electrodes implanted in the somatosensory cortex (S1). This achievement represents the first time a brain-machine interface has augmented natural perceptual capabilities in mammals.
Interestingly, it was observed that neurons in the stimulated regions of S1 maintained their normal tactile ability to respond to whisker deflection. Therefore, two different cortical representations, became superimposed on the animal’s S1 cortex, creating a novel bimodal processing region.
Moreover, this experimental paradigm could be expanded to other stimulus such as magnetic or radio waves to be represented in brain region. Researchers hope that studying the underlying mechanisms in which the brain is creating a novel processing region would be helpful to further investigate the phenomenon of brain plasticity.
Thomson EE, Carra R, & Nicolelis MA (2013). Perceiving invisible light through a somatosensory cortical prosthesis. Nature communications, 4 PMID: 23403583