Centers and Institutes
Published December 6, 2024 | Version v1
Journal article Open

Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex

Creators

  • 1. University of Chicago
  • 2. University of Pittsburgh
  • 3. Case Western Reserve University
  • 4. University Hospital Cleveland Medical Center

Description

Tactile feedback from brain-controlled bionic hands can be partially restored via intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of the primary somatosensory cortex. In ICMS, the location of percepts depends on the electrode's location and the percept intensity depends on the stimulation frequency and amplitude. Sensors on a bionic hand can thus be linked to somatotopically appropriate electrodes, and the contact force of each sensor can be used to determine the amplitude of a stimulus. Here we report a systematic investigation of the localization and intensity of ICMS-evoked percepts in three participants with cervical spinal cord injury. A retrospective analysis of projected fields showed that they were typically composed of a focal hotspot with diffuse borders, arrayed somatotopically in keeping with their underlying receptive fields and stable throughout the duration of the study. When testing the participants' ability to rapidly localize a single ICMS presentation, individual electrodes typically evoked only weak sensations, making object localization and discrimination difficult. However, overlapping projected fields from multiple electrodes produced more localizable and intense sensations and allowed for a more precise use of a bionic hand.

Notes

Due to the large number of authors, only the first 20 and the University of Chicago authors are included on the above author list. Please download the article for the complete list of authors.

Data availability

The de-identified data generated in this study are available from the data archive BRAIN Initiative under the project code GU5A5IO8LRXE (https://dabi.loni.usc.edu/dsi/GU5A5IO8LRXE). Owing to participant privacy, the data are available under restricted access, and access can be obtained on request to the study PIs by an investigator who is prepared to securely handle data resulting from human research.

Code for the analyses and figure generation is available on GitHub at https://github.com/CorticalBionics/StableAndPreciseICMS. Code used for data collection is available for research purposes from the corresponding author on reasonable request.

Files

Evoking-stable-and-precise-tactile-sensations-via-multi-electrode-intracortical-microstimulation-of-the-somatosensory-cortex.pdf

Files (7.1 MB)

Additional details

Identifiers

DOI
10.1038/s41551-024-01299-z
Other
oai:uchicago.tind.io:14496

Funding

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
UH3 NS107714
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
R35 NS122333
Unknown funder
CDMRP SCIRP
Unknown funder
VA I01RX002654

UChicago Information

Division(s)
Biological Sciences Division
Department(s)
Computational Neuroscience, Neurological Surgery, Organismal Biology and Anatomy
Center(s) or Institute(s)
Neuroscience Institute