title: Of mice and men.
abstract: In this chapter we consider a distinct example of the link between biology and technology, with particular reference to the brain. We look at the example of a brain cultured in the laboratory which is then linked to a physical robot body. The overall entity therefore consists of a physical robot body controlled by a purely biological brain. The entire system provides a wonderful base for the study of the fundamental features of diseases such as strokes and Alzheimer's disease, as well as allowing for a basic investigation into the mechanisms for neural signal transfer.
authors.affiliation: School of Systems Engineering, University of Reading, UK.
authors.forename: Kevin
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Warwick
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D001709:Biotechnology; D001921:Brain / Q000378:metabolism; D051379:Mice; D009415:Nerve Net; D012371:Robotics