Neuroprosthetics is an area of neuroscience concerned with neural prostheses, developing artificial devices to replace or improve the function of an impaired nervous system. The neuroprosthetic seeing the most widespread use is the cochlear implant, with approximately 100,000^[1] in use worldwide as of 2006. Drawing of the cells in the chicken cerebellum by S. Ramón y Cajal Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. ... A United States soldier demonstrates Foosball with two prosthetic limbs In medicine, a prosthesis is an artificial extension that replaces a missing part of the body. ... Illustration of the internal parts of a cochlear implant. ... 2006 is a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

History

An early difficulty in the development of neuroprosthetics was reliably locating the electrodes in the brain, originally done by inserting the electrodes with needles and breaking off the needles at the desired depth. Recent systems utilize more advanced probes, such as those used in deep brain stimulation to alleviate the symptoms of Parkinsons Disease. The problem with either approach is that the brain floats free in the skull while the probe does not, and relatively minor impacts, such as a low speed car accident, are potentially damaging. Some researchers, such as Kensall Wise at the University of Michigan, have proposed tethering 'electrodes to be mounted on the exterior surface of the brain' to the inner surface of the skull. However, even if successful, tethering would not resolve the problem in devices meant to be inserted deep into the brain, such as in the case of deep brain stimulation [DBS]. In neurotechnology, deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a surgical treatment involving the implantation of a medical device called a brain pacemaker, which sends electrical impulses to specific parts of the brain. ... The University of Michigan, Ann Arbor (UM or U of M) is a coeducational public research university in the U.S. state of Michigan. ...

Research has also been undertaken by the American CIA in the 1950s as part of the MKULTRA program, although it is uncertain whether this meets the definition of neuroprosthesis. Examples: Subproject 86 (developing an invasive prosthetic identifier thought to expand in reporting body responses such as blood pressure or tremor), subproject 94 (neurostimulus in animals immediately defining direction of movement and control) and subproject 119 (remote "reassembly" or unification of monitored neural impulse into a useable data product). The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Wikipedia does not yet have an article with this exact name. ...

Current research

Visual prosthesis

Main article: Visual prosthetic

One of the prominent goals in neuroprosthetics is a visual supplement, noting roughly 95% of all people considered 'blind' suffer significant impairment but have some capability (for example, seeing some sort of blur) - only about 5% of 'blind' people are totally blind. By the 1940s, researchers had established the concept of artificial electrical stimulation of the visual cortex, and in the late 1960s, British scientist Giles Brindley produced breakthrough findings with a system for placing electrodes on the brain's surface. When specific areas of the brain were stimulated in blind volunteers, all reported "seeing" phosphenes that corresponded to where they would have appeared in space. However, experiments were discontinued because of the uncomfortably high currents required for stimulation on the surface of the brain. This article lacks information on the importance of the subject matter. ... Blindness is the condition of lacking visual perception due to physiological or psychological factors. ...

Encouraged by this work, the National Institutes of Health undertook a project to develop and deploy an interface based on ultrafine wire (25 to 50 micrometres) densely populated with electrode sites that could be implanted deep into the visual cortex, thus requiring less current than Brindley's original design. This work led to new electrode technology—finer than the width of human hair—that could be safely implanted in animals to electrically stimulate, and passively record, electrical activity in the brain. The efforts produced significant advances in neurophysiology, with publication of hundreds of papers in which researchers attempted to develop an electronic interface to the brain. The National Institutes of Health (NIH) is the primary agency of the United States government responsible for medical research. ... Brodmann area 17 (primary visual cortex) is shown in red in this image which also shows area 18 (orange) and 19 (yellow) The visual cortex refers to the primary visual cortex (also known as striate cortex or V1) and extrastriate visual cortical areas such as V2, V3, V4, and V5. ...

With this new technology, several scientists, including Karin Moxon at Drexel, John Chapin at SUNY, and Miguel Nicolelis at Duke University, started research on the design of a sophisticated visual prosthesis. Other scientists have disagreed with the focus of their research, arguing that the basic research and design of the densely populated microscopic wire was not sophisticated enough to proceed. Drexel can refer to: Drexel University Jeremias Drexel, a 17th century German Jesuit and professor Drexel Burnham Lambert, a now defunct investment bank Categories: Disambiguation ... The State University of New York (acronym SUNY; usually pronounced SOO-nee) is a system of public institutions of higher education in New York, United States. ... Duke University is a private coeducational research university located in Durham, North Carolina, USA. The school, which officially became Duke University in 1924, traces its institutional roots to 1838. ...

Audio prosthesis

Main article: cochlear implant

Illustration of the internal parts of a cochlear implant. ...

Kinematic prosthesis

In 2003 Philip Kennedy (Emory and Georgia Tech) had an operable if somewhat primitive system which allowed an individual with paralysis to spell words by modulating their brain activity. Kennedy's device uses two neurotrophic electrodes: the first is implanted in an intact motor cortical region (e.g. finger representation area) and used to move a cursor among a group of letters. The second is implanted in a different motor region and used to indicate the selection. ^[2] Emory may refer to: Emory, Texas Emory University Emory and Henry College David Emory (anti-fascist researcher) John Emory (protestant bishop) Emory Upton (American general) Category: ... Georgia Institute of Technology The Georgia Institute of Technology, or Georgia Tech, is located in Atlanta, Georgia, U.S.A. With over 16,000 students, Georgia Tech is one of four public research universities in the University System of Georgia. ...

More recently, there have been successful experiments completely replacing lost arms with cybernetic replacements by using nerves normally connected to the pectoralis muscles. These arms allow a slightly limited range of motion, and reportedly are slated to feature sensors for detecting pressure and temperature.^[3]

Much of the ongoing research in neuroprosthetics concerns retinal implants and cochlear implants, though for example at the University of Southern California research is done for hippocampal implants. A retinal implant is a biomedical implant technology currently being developed by a number of private companies and research institutions worldwide. ... Illustration of the internal parts of a cochlear implant. ... The University of Southern California (commonly referred to as USC, SC, Southern California, and incorrectly as Southern Cal[1]), located in the University Park neighborhood in Los Angeles, California, USA, was founded in 1880, making it Californias oldest private research university. ...

Commercial technology

Medtronic and Advanced Bionics are significant commercial names in the emergent market of Deep Brain Stimulation. CyberKinetics is the first venture capital funded neural prosthetic company, and has the first human trial.

References

1. ^ Laura Bailey. HUniversity of Michigan News Service. Retrieved on February 6, 2006.
2. ^ Gary Goettling. Harnessing the Power of Thought. Retrieved on April 22, 2006.
3. ^ David Brown. Washington Post. Retrieved on September 14, 2006.

Santucci DM, Kralik JD, Lebedev MA, Nicolelis MA (2005) "Frontal and parietal cortical ensembles predict single-trial muscle activity during reaching movements in primates." Eur J Neurosci. 22(6): 1529-1540. February 6 is the 37th day of the year in the Gregorian Calendar. ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... April 22 is the 112th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (113th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ... September 14 is the 257th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar (258th in leap years). ... 2006 (MMVI) was a common year starting on Sunday of the Gregorian calendar. ...

Lebedev MA, Carmena JM, O'Doherty JE, Zacksenhouse M, Henriquez CS, Principe JC, Nicolelis MA (2005) "Cortical ensemble adaptation to represent velocity of an artificial actuator controlled by a brain-machine interface." J Neurosci. 25: 4681-4893.

Nicolelis MA (2003) "Brain-machine interfaces to restore motor function and probe neural circuits." Nat Rev Neurosci. 4: 417-422.

Wessberg J, Stambaugh CR, Kralik JD, Beck PD, Laubach M, Chapin JK, Kim J, Biggs SJ, Srinivasan MA, Nicolelis MA. (2000) "Real-time prediction of hand trajectory by ensembles of cortical neurons in primates." Nature 16: 361-365.

See also

• Technologies: Brain-computer interface, Brain implant, Cyberware, Neurotechnology
• Disciplines: Cognitive Science, Neural engineering, Neuroscience
• People: Miguel Nicolelis, John Donoghue

// A brain-computer interface (BCI), sometimes called a direct neural interface or a brain-machine interface, is a direct communication pathway between a human or animal brain (or brain cell culture) and an external device. ... Brain implants, often referred to as neural implants, are technological devices that connect directly to a biological subjects brain - usually placed on the surface of the brain, or attached to the brains cortex. ... Cyberware is a relatively new and unknown field. ... Neurotechnology is the set of tools that analyze and influence the human nervous system, especially the brain. ... Cognitive science is usually defined as the scientific study either of mind or of intelligence (e. ... It has been suggested that Neuro cybernetics be merged into this article or section. ... Drawing of the cells in the chicken cerebellum by S. Ramón y Cajal Neuroscience is a field that is devoted to the scientific study of the nervous system. ... Miguel Nicolelis, MD, PhD, is a Brazilian scientist best known for his pioneering work in reading monkey thought. He implanted electrode arrays into the monkey brain that were able to detect monkeys motor intent and thus able to control reaching and grasping movements performed by a robotic arm. ... Cyberkinetics is an American company. ...

External links

Organisations

(for a list of universities see Neural Engineering - Neural Engineering Labs) It has been suggested that Neuro cybernetics be merged into this article or section. ...

• The open-source Electroencephalography project and Programmable chip version, Sourceforge open source EEG projects

• Dr. Theodore W. Berger's website

• Brain controlled video game Boy controls video game through brain-machine interface

Articles

• Muscles tapped for virtual input, TRNmag.com, 7 February 2001, Nasa research on using musclar nervous signals to power neuroprosthesis

Portals

• Neurostimulation