This blog has highlighted gains toward technology interfaces to neurons. This study advances understanding of the action of neurons themselves toward forming memory.

“This time, Ben-Jacob and graduate student Itay Baruchi, who led the study, targeted inhibitory neurons to try to bring some order to their neural network. They mounted the cell culture on a polymer panel studded with electrodes, which enabled Ben-Jacob and Baruchi to monitor the patterns created by firing neurons. All of the cells on the electrode array came from the cortex, the outermost layer of the brain known for its role in memory formation.”

http://www.sciam.com/article.cfm?articleID=0306422B-E7F2-99DF-3809798634B2D416&chanID=sa003