Detection of optogenetic stimulation in somatosensory cortex by non-human primates--towards artificial tactile sensation.

ABSTRACT: Neuroprosthesis research aims to enable communication between the brain and external assistive devices while restoring lost functionality such as occurs from stroke, spinal cord injury or neurodegenerative diseases. In future closed-loop sensorimotor prostheses, one approach is to use neuromodulation as direct stimulus to the brain to compensate for a lost sensory function and help the brain to integrate relevant information for commanding external devices via, e.g. movement intention. Current neuromodulation techniques rely mainly of electrical stimulation. Here we focus specifically on the question of eliciting a biomimetically relevant sense of touch by direct stimulus of the somatosensory cortex by introducing optogenetic techniques as an alternative to electrical stimulation. We demon

SUBMITTER: May T 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC4277269 | biostudies-literature | 2014

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature