Applications of recurrent brain-computer interfaces
Event details
| Date | 26.05.2011 |
| Hour | 12:15 |
| Speaker | Prof. Eberhard E. Fetz, University of Washington, Seattle, USA |
| Location |
SV 1717A
|
| Category | Conferences - Seminars |
Abstract : We are investigating the consequences of bidirectional connections produced by an autonomous implantable recurrent brain-computer interface [R-BCI] that operates continuously during free behavior and generates activity-dependent stimulation of the brain or muscles. This so-called “Neurochip” consists of battery-powered electronics connected to electrodes that record the activity of motor cortex cells and/or muscles. The neural activity is processed by a programmable computer chip and can be converted in real-time to activity-contingent electrical stimuli delivered to nervous system sites or muscles (Mavoori et al, J. Neurosci. Meth., 2005). A promising application is to bridge impaired biological connections, a paradigm recently demonstrated for cortically controlled electrical stimulation of paralyzed forearm muscles (Moritz et al, Nature, 2008). This study showed that learning volitional control of neural activity that directly activates muscles is a promising alternative to the traditional decoding of neural populations for BCI control. A second application of the R-BCI is to produce Hebbian synaptic plasticity through spike-triggered stimulation, which can strengthen physiological connections (Jackson et al, Nature, 2006). Recent work has shown that similar plastic changes can be produced by EMG-triggered cortical stimulation and in the strength of corticospinal connections by cortically triggered intraspinal stimulation. The novel R-BCI paradigm has numerous potential applications, depending on the input signals, the computed transform and the output targets.
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Practical information
- General public
- Free
Contact
- Christiane Debono