Real-Time Performance of a Tactile Neuroprosthesis on Awake Behaving Rats
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Date
2019
Journal Title
Journal ISSN
Volume Title
Publisher
IEEE-Inst Electrical Electronics Engineers Inc
Access Rights
info:eu-repo/semantics/closedAccess
Abstract
With the advancement of electrode and equipment technology, neuroprosthetics have become a promising alternative to partially compensate for the loss of sensorimotor function in amputees and patients with neurological diseases. Cortical neural interfaces are suitable especially for spinal cord injuries and amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Although considerable success has been achieved in the literature by spike decoding ofmotor signals from the human brain, somatosensory feedback is essential for better motor control, interaction with objects, and the embodiment of prosthetic devices. In this paper, we present a tactile neuroprosthesis for rats based on intracortical microstimulation (ICMS). The rats wore mechanicallyisolated boots coveredwith tactile sensorswhile performing a psychophysical detection task. The vibrotactile stimuli were measured by the artificial sensors and by using a real-time processor, this information was converted to electrical current pulses for ICMS. Some parameters of the realtime processor algorithm were specific to individual rats and were based on psychometric equivalence functions established earlier. Rats could detect the effects of the vibrotactile stimuli better (i. e., higher sensitivity indices) when the tactile neuroprosthesis was switched on compared to the boot only condition during active movement. In other words, the rats could decode the tactile information embedded in ICMS and use that in a behaviorally relevant manner. The presented animal model without peripheral nerve injury or amputation is also a promising tool to test various hardware and software components of neuroprosthetic systems in general.
Description
Keywords
Artificial touch, tactile sensor, psychophysics, vibrotactile stimulus, intracortical microstimulation, somatosensory cortex, Intracortical Microstimulation, Sensory Feedback, Channel, System, Discrimination, Simulation, Responses, Model
Journal or Series
Ieee Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
WoS Q Value
Q1
Scopus Q Value
Q1
Volume
27
Issue
5
