Real-time control of a robot arm using simultaneously recorded neurons in the motor cortex

There is no author summary for this article yet. Authors can add summaries to their articles on ScienceOpen to make them more accessible to a non-specialist audience.

Abstract

To determine whether simultaneously recorded motor cortex neurons can be used for real-time device control, rats were trained to position a robot arm to obtain water by pressing a lever. Mathematical transformations, including neural networks, converted multineuron signals into 'neuronal population functions' that accurately predicted lever trajectory. Next, these functions were electronically converted into real-time signals for robot arm control. After switching to this 'neurorobotic' mode, 4 of 6 animals (those with > 25 task-related neurons) routinely used these brain-derived signals to position the robot arm and obtain water. With continued training in neurorobotic mode, the animals' lever movement diminished or stopped. These results suggest a possible means for movement restoration in paralysis patients.

Related collections

Most cited references 28

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

The motor cortex of the rat: cytoarchitecture and microstimulation mapping.

Philip Donoghue, Roger Wise (1982)

The first motor (MI) cortex of the rat was identified as the region from which movements could be evoked by the lowest intensity of electrical stimulation. The location of this region was correlated with cytoarchitecture in the frontal and parietal cortex. Two frontal areas can be discerned in Nissl-stained sections: (1) the medial agranular field, marked by a pale-staining layer III and a compact layer II, and (2) the lateral agranular field, which has more homogeneous superficial layers and a broad layer V containing large, densely staining cells. Both of these regions project to the spinal cord and can therefore be included in the somatic sensorimotor cortex. MI in the rat coincides with the lateral agranular field but also overlaps with part of the adjacent granular cortex of the first somatic sensory (SI) representation. We conclude that the rat MI cortex can be identified by microstimulation techniques and by cytoarchitecture in the rat.

0 comments Cited 87 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: not found
Article: not found

Operant Conditioning of Cortical Unit Activity

E E Fetz (1969)

0 comments Cited 72 times – based on 0 reviews      Review now

Bookmark

Record: found
Abstract: found
Article: not found

Restoration of neural output from a paralyzed patient by a direct brain connection.

P Kennedy, R. A. E. Bakay (1998)

Patients with severe paralysis of limbs, face and vocal apparatus may be intelligent and aware and yet, tragically, unable to communicate. We describe a communication link for such a 'locked-in' patient with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. We recorded action potentials in her brain over several months by means of an electrode that induces growth of myelinated fibers into its recording tip. She was able to control the neural signals in an on/off fashion. This result is an important step towards providing such patients with direct control of their environment by interfacing with a computer. Additionally, it indicates that restoration of paralyzed muscles may be possible by using the signals to control muscle stimulators.