Quality of Neuron Signals Recorded in the Monkey Neocortex Using Chronically Implanted Multiple Microwires

Abstract

Impairments to connections between the central and peripheral compartments of the motor system lead to severe forms of disability, though contemporary studies of brain-computer interfaces have potential to resolve the problems of rehabilitating patients with motor disorders. Chronic recording of the activity of individual neurons in movement-associated brain areas is required for generating control signals for effectors with many degrees of freedom. In the present study, we evaluate the quality of chronic recording of the activity of individual neurons in the motor cortex of conscious monkeys using bundles of multiple microelectrodes. High-quality recordings of the activity of individual neurons could be made over periods of three months. In some cases, the activity of up to seven neurons could be discriminated in neuron traces from a single channel. Recording quality became stable by 40 days from the moment of microelectrode implantation. Ultimately, the functionality of multiple microelectrode bundles allowed them to be used as reliable instruments for obtaining neurophysiological control signals from brain cell populations in studies in the area of invasive brain-computer devices.