Fig. 2

The key concepts of our research -Our vision for the automation of brain research. An illustration of a chick, whose brain contains probes, wearing a blue helmet representing a near-infrared (NIR) transmitter (0), as in Fig. 1b. (a) NIR light should reach the deep brain of chicks (Chen et al 2018). (b) If hundreds of probes, devices, and electrodes are embedded in a defined area of vertebrate brain, the probes could individually communicate with the outside of the skull via NIR (0). Some existing brain research in Fig. 1 can be replaced with the NIR-driven probes (1)–(13), as follows. We propose candidate probes and integrating whole brain research. Some existing methods in brain research (Fig. 1) can be replaced with the technology of non-invasively embedding brain probes that are individually driven by NIR (0) (a). Such technologies (1)–(13) include probes that (1) destroy the surrounding neurons in a temporally and spatially specific manner, like surgical resection; (2) sense oxygen or glucose, like fMRI or PET; (3) sense a variety of molecules including neurotransmitters, (4) simultaneously or individually stimulate or suppress neuronal activities, like MEA; (5) simultaneously or individually record neuronal activities, like MEA; and (6) deliver drugs in a temporally and spatially specific manner, instead of drug injection. Furthermore, (7) massive digital signals of a particular animal that are interconnected with machines, robots, and other animals via the internet according to the brain-net concept could be employed. Upon such detailed in vivo top-down probe analyses (1–7), (8) biopsies of the corresponding probes can enable a variety of biochemical analyses, and (9) the neuronal network as a connectome (Winnubst et al. 2019) can be visualized by neurons that take up retrograde-type dyes released from the probes. Furthermore, after euthanizing animals, (10–11) neurons and brain sections can be analyzed in vitro by stimulating, suppressing, and recording their activity via the probe; (12) and the signal transduction of neurons and brain sections can be analyzed in vitro around the probe. These bottom-up analyses (8–12) could be functionally and mutually linked to top-down analyses (1–7), integrating all brain research. Finally, when using transgenic animals or recombinant virus-infected animals for optogenetics, (13) blue light can be supplied from the NIR-driven probe (Chen et al. 2018)