A University of Washington new release claims researchers have used an implantable chip to establish new nerve connections in the brain for motor control. It is hoped the "Neurochip" will be useful in the "rehabilitation of patients with brain injuries, stroke, or paralysis". Might come in handy to create man-made zomibies too! The research was done by Jaideep Mavoori, Eberhard E. Fetz and other UW researchers. The Neurochip itself is an 8-bit Cypress Micro PSoC microcontroller running at 3MHz. Technical details can be found in the paper, "A Miniature Implantable Computer for Functional Electrical Stimulation and Recording of Neuromuscular Activity" (PDF format). It was developed some time ago and even got an honourable mention in the 2002 Circuit Celler PSoC design challenge. Earlier uses of the neurochip including studies of moth behavior. Mavoori also developed a Khepera robot (PDF format) that emulated the Hawk moth's abiltiy to track flower movements. Evil Geniuses who need to get an early start on their Zombie armies can download detailed documentation and source code (Zip format) for the 2002 version of the Neurochip.