[http://www.blogcdn.com/www.engadget.com/media/2011/09/roborat-1317208279.jpg](http://www.engadget.com/2011/09/28/scientists-build-digital-cerebellum-for-roborat-to-protect-ser/)
You'd be forgiven if talk about Cyborg Rats made you think about [precision gaming mice](http://www.engadget.com/2011/08/11/mad-catz-cyborg-rat-albino-first-hands-on/), but in this case we're yapping about the real thing. A team from [Tel Aviv University](http://www.engadget.com/tag/Tel+Aviv+University/) has found a way to restore lost motor function in rodents by building a digital cerebellum. As the story goes, they anesthetized a rat, disabled its natural abilities and installed the device -- and were able to teach the chip to make the rat blink when a sound was played. It's all very early-days, but the hope is to develop implants to aid people with long-term disabilities -- or to ensure our sewers are crime free. For those not paying attention, rat-brained innovations are on the up: in June, researchers at the University of Southern California were able to construct an artificial memory, not to mention last year's [Tokyo brain-car](http://www.engadget.com/2010/10/06/rat-controls-vehicle-with-its-brain-pinky-and-the-brain-apply-f/). After all this mistreatment, it wouldn't be a surprise if the Cyborg Rats sided with the machines in the forthcoming [Robopocalypse.](http://www.engadget.com/tag/RobotApocalypse/) Which, you know, is *exactly* what we need weighing on our conscience.
Scientists build digital cerebellum for Roborat: to protect, serve and spook originally appeared on Engadget on Wed, 28 Sep 2011 09:31:00 EDT. Please see our terms for use of feeds.
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