Researchers from the University of Tokyo in their lately published paper titled 'Visual Cortical Prosthesis with a Geomagnetic Compass Restores Spatial Navigation in Blind Rats' have explained how neuroprosthesis helped feeding geomagnetic signals in the brains of blind rats to navigate about a maze.

Group's head Yuji Ikegaya of the University of Tokyo in Japan said that from the findings it can be said that the rats could find out to use a fully unnatural sense. The research has raised the possibility that humans could also do the same.

"I am dreaming that humans can expand their senses by way of artificial sensors for geomagnetism, ultraviolet, radio waves, ultrasonic waves and so on", affirmed Ikegaya.

The researchers explained that neuroprosthesis comprises of a geomagnetic compass &ndash a version of the microchip present in smartphones. It also had two electrodes, which matched into the animals' visual cortices.

Whenever the rat positioned its head within 20 degrees then the electrodes sent pulses of electricity into visual cortex. And, when the rats aligned their head in southern direction then the left visual cortex was stimulated.

This stimulation helped blind eats to develop a mental map of their surroundings with no visual cues. The researchers provided the blind rats training. The rats were equipped with digital compasses and after two days and 60 maze trials, they were able to find their way to the reward as soon as possible.

On the other hand, blind rats that did not have further senses were quite slow to find the reward and they did not show any improvement. The researchers said that their happily amazed to know how adaptable the brain is.

It would not be wrong to affirm that we do not make full use of brain owing to the poor sensory organs on which brain relies on.