Design Of Neural Prostheses Research Articles

Haptic Cues for Balance: Use of a Cane Provides Immediate Body Stabilization.

Haptic cues are important for balance. Knowledge of the temporal features of their effect may be crucial for the design of neural prostheses. Touching a stable surface with a fingertip reduces body sway in standing subjects eyes closed (EC), and removal of haptic cue reinstates a large sway pattern. Changes in sway occur rapidly on changing haptic conditions. Here, we describe the effects and time-course of stabilization produced by a haptic cue derived from a walking cane. We intended to confirm that cane use reduces body sway, to evaluate the effect of vision on stabilization by a cane, and to estimate the delay of the changes in body sway after addition and withdrawal of haptic input. Seventeen healthy young subjects stood in tandem position on a force platform, with eyes closed or open (EO). They gently lowered the cane onto and lifted it from a second force platform. Sixty trials per direction of haptic shift (Touch → NoTouch, T-NT; NoTouch → Touch, NT-T) and visual condition (EC-EO) were acquired. Traces of Center of foot Pressure (CoP) and the force exerted by cane were filtered, rectified, and averaged. The position in space of a reflective marker positioned on the cane tip was also acquired by an optoelectronic device. Cross-correlation (CC) analysis was performed between traces of cane tip and CoP displacement. Latencies of changes in CoP oscillation in the frontal plane EC following the T-NT and NT-T haptic shift were statistically estimated. The CoP oscillations were larger in EC than EO under both T and NT (p < 0.001) and larger during NT than T conditions (p < 0.001). Haptic-induced effect under EC (Romberg quotient NT/T ~ 1.2) was less effective than that of vision under NT condition (EC/EO ~ 1.5) (p < 0.001). With EO cane had little effect. Cane displacement lagged CoP displacement under both EC and EO. Latencies to changes in CoP oscillations were longer after addition (NT-T, about 1.6 s) than withdrawal (T-NT, about 0.9 s) of haptic input (p < 0.001). These latencies were similar to those occurring on fingertip touch, as previously shown. Overall, data speak in favor of substantial equivalence of the haptic information derived from both “direct” fingertip contact and “indirect” contact with the floor mediated by the cane. Cane, finger and visual inputs would be similarly integrated in the same neural centers for balance control. Haptic input from a walking aid and its processing time should be considered when designing prostheses for locomotion.

A spectral element method with adaptive segmentation for accurately simulating extracellular electrical stimulation of neurons.

The capacity to quickly and accurately simulate extracellular stimulation of neurons is essential to the design of next-generation neural prostheses. Existing platforms for simulating neurons are largely based on finite-difference techniques; due to the complex geometries involved, the more powerful spectral or differential quadrature techniques cannot be applied directly. This paper presents a mathematical basis for the application of a spectral element method to the problem of simulating the extracellular stimulation of retinal neurons, which is readily extensible to neural fibers of any kind. The activating function formalism is extended to arbitrary neuron geometries, and a segmentation method to guarantee an appropriate choice of collocation points is presented. Differential quadrature may then be applied to efficiently solve the resulting cable equations. The capacity for this model to simulate action potentials propagating through branching structures and to predict minimum extracellular stimulation thresholds for individual neurons is demonstrated. The presented model is validated against published values for extracellular stimulation threshold and conduction velocity for realistic physiological parameter values. This model suggests that convoluted axon geometries are more readily activated by extracellular stimulation than linear axon geometries, which may have ramifications for the design of neural prostheses.

Motor Control Abnormalities in Parkinson's Disease

The primary manifestations of Parkinson's disease are abnormalities of movement, including movement slowness, difficulties with gait and balance, and tremor. We know a considerable amount about the abnormalities of neuronal and muscle activity that correlate with these symptoms. Motor symptoms can also be described in terms of motor control, a level of description that explains how movement variables, such as a limb's position and speed, are controlled and coordinated. Understanding motor symptoms as motor control abnormalities means to identify how the disease disrupts normal control processes. In the case of Parkinson's disease, movement slowness, for example, would be explained by a disruption of the control processes that determine normal movement speed. Two long-term benefits of understanding the motor control basis of motor symptoms include the future design of neural prostheses to replace the function of damaged basal ganglia circuits, and the rational design of rehabilitation strategies. This type of understanding, however, remains limited, partly because of limitations in our knowledge of normal motor control. In this article, we review the concept of motor control and describe a few motor symptoms that illustrate the challenges in understanding such symptoms as motor control abnormalities.

Human distal sciatic nerve fascicular anatomy: Implications for ankle control using nerve-cuff electrodes

The design of neural prostheses to restore standing balance, prevent foot drop, or provide active propulsion during ambulation requires detailed knowledge of the distal sciatic nerve anatomy. Three complete sciatic nerves and branches were dissected from the piriformis to each muscle entry point to characterize the branching patterns and diameters. Fascicle maps were created from serial sections of each distal terminus below the knee through the anastomosis of the tibial and common fibular nerves above the knee. Similar branching patterns and fascicle maps were observed across specimens. Fascicles innervating primary plantar flexors, dorsiflexors, invertors, and evertors were distinctly separate and functionally organized in the proximal tibial, common fibular, and distal sciatic nerves; however, fascicles from individual muscles were not apparent at these levels. The fascicular organization is conducive to selective stimulation for isolated and/or balanced dorsiflexion, plantar flexion, eversion, and inversion through a single multicontact nerve-cuff electrode. These neuroanatomical data are being used to design nerve-cuff electrodes for selective control of ankle movement and improve current lower-limb neural prostheses.

Design, fabrication and evaluation of nanoscale surface topography as a tool in directing differentiation and organisation of embryonic stem-cell-derived neural precursors

A major limitation in the translation of stem cells technology to clinical applications is the lack of efficient control over their proliferation and differentiation. Recent in vitro research findings suggest that biomaterials with nanoscale surface topography can influence cell behaviour like adhesion, proliferation and differentiation. Therefore, the identification of biomaterials that support appropriate ES cell attachment, proliferation and differentiation into cells of interest is an attractive strategy worth investigation. In this study we present the design and fabrication of thin films of gold with surface topography of varying roughness using a combination of microfabrication techniques. We then explored their biomimetic potential to direct differentiation of ES cell-derived neural precursors. Standard glass coverslips and tissue culture plastic were used as reference materials. Our preliminary results show that ES-derived neural precursors best adhered on gold and underwent the highest differentiation on gold films with root mean square surface roughness ( R q) of 21 nm (72 ± 6%) after five days of culture in the absence of traditional soluble neurotrophic factors. Moreover, when cells were seeded on a combination of micro-scale grooves with nanoscale surface roughness, axonal outgrowth orientation was observed to be influenced by the grating axis. This data identifies gold as a potential biomaterial candidate with suitable cytocompatibility for ES cell research. It further lends support to the hypothesis that biomaterial design may optimize ES cell-derived neural differentiation and organisation. This may find utility as a tool to synergically complement soluble chemical factors currently used in in vitro protocols for the stimulation and modelling of ES differentiation. Ultimately, substrate patterning may hold special utility in the design of neural prostheses because repair of neurological injuries requires directional guidance.

A characterization of the effects on neuronal excitability due to prolonged microstimulation with chronically implanted microelectrodes.

Localized, long-lasting stimulation-induced depression of neuronal excitability (SIDNE) is a consequence of prolonged, high-frequency microstimulation in the central nervous system (CNS). It represents a persisting refractory state in the neurons and axons near the stimulating microelectrode, that occurs in the absence of histologically detectable tissue injury. It does not involve a change in synaptic efficacy and, in this respect, it differs from the more familiar phenomenon of long-term depression (LTD). Although SIDNE is ultimately reversible (after several days), it must be taken into account in the design of neural prostheses based on microstimulation in the central nervous system and in animal studies that require prolonged microstimulation in the CNS. In this study, we have characterized the phenomenon, using as the paradigm, iridium microelectrodes implanted chronically in the cat's posteroventral cochlear nucleus. Although the SIDNE may persist for several days after the end of the stimulation protocol, it does not become more severe from day to day when the stimulation protocol is repeated on successive days. The severity of the SIDNE is strongly dependent upon both the instantaneous frequency and the duty cycle of the electrical stimulation. The character of the SIDNE, including its localization to the immediate vicinity of the stimulating microelectrodes, suggests that the phenomenon is a direct consequence of the prolonged electrical excitation of the neurons close to the microelectrode. The problem of designing microstimulation systems that allow high-frequency stimulation of a neural substrate, while minimizing SIDNE are discussed.

Alternate excitation of large and small axons with different stimulation waveforms: an application to muscle activation

A method has been developed to activate separately and alternately two axon groups in an intact nerve trunk through a single-channel stimulation electrode. Two types of stimuli, quasitrapezoidal-shaped and narrow rectangular-shaped current pulses, were employed to activate smaller and larger axons, respectively. The technique was demonstrated on an alpha motor fibre population in cat peripheral nerve and was utilised to reduce muscle fatigue during repetitive stimulation. This method may have applications in physiological research and the design of neural prostheses.

Cochlear Pathology Following Chronic Electrical Stimulation Using Non Charge Balanced Stimuli

During the course of a chronic intracochlear electrical stimulation study using charge balanced biphasic current pulses, one animal inadvertently received a short period of direct current (DC) stimulation at a level of approximately 1 microA. Subsequent, the animal was chronically stimulated using a poorly charge balanced waveform that produced a DC level of approximately 2 microA. Extensive pathological changes were observed within the cochlea. These changes included widespread spiral ganglion cell loss and new bone growth that extended throughout all turns of the cochlea. Significant changes in the morphology of the electrically evoked auditory brainstem response (EABR) were associated with these pathological changes. EABRs recorded prior to the DC stimulation exhibited a normal waveform morphology. However, responses recorded during the course of the DC stimulation were dominated by a short latency response believed to be vestibular in origin. The response thresholds were also significantly higher than levels recorded before the DC stimulation. In contrast, the contralateral cochlea, stimulated using charge balanced stimuli, showed no evidence of adverse pathological changes. Furthermore, EABRs evoked from this cochlea remained stable throughout the chronic stimulation period. Although preliminary, the present results illustrate the adverse nature of poorly charge balanced electrical stimuli. These results have important implications for both the design of neural prostheses and the use of DC stimuli to suppress tinnitus in patients.