RT Journal Article
SR Electronic
T1 Primate Reaching Cued by Multichannel Spatiotemporal Cortical Microstimulation
JF The Journal of Neuroscience
JO J. Neurosci.
FD Society for Neuroscience
SP 5593
OP 5602
DO 10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5297-06.2007
VO 27
IS 21
A1 N. A. Fitzsimmons
A1 W. Drake
A1 T. L. Hanson
A1 M. A. Lebedev
A1 M. A. L. Nicolelis
YR 2007
UL http://www.jneurosci.org/content/27/21/5593.abstract
AB Both humans and animals can discriminate signals delivered to sensory areas of their brains using electrical microstimulation. This opens the possibility of creating an artificial sensory channel that could be implemented in neuroprosthetic devices. Although microstimulation delivered through multiple implanted electrodes could be beneficial for this purpose, appropriate microstimulation protocols have not been developed. Here, we report a series of experiments in which owl monkeys performed reaching movements guided by spatiotemporal patterns of cortical microstimulation delivered to primary somatosensory cortex through chronically implanted multielectrode arrays. The monkeys learned to discriminate microstimulation patterns, and their ability to learn new patterns and new behavioral rules improved during several months of testing. Significantly, information was conveyed to the brain through the interplay of microstimulation patterns delivered to multiple electrodes and the temporal order in which these electrodes were stimulated. This suggests multichannel microstimulation as a viable means of sensorizing neural prostheses.