Intracortical microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex

Authors

Sharlene N. Flesher, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Jennifer L. Collinger, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Stephen T. Foldes, Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.Follow
Jeffrey M. Weiss, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
John E. Downey, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Elizabeth C. Tyler-Kabara, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Sliman J. Bensmaia, Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA.
Andrew B. Schwartz, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Michael L. Boninger, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA.
Robert A. Gaunt, Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15213, USA. rag53@pitt.edu.

Document Type

Article

Abstract

Intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex offers the potential for creating a sensory neuroprosthesis to restore tactile sensation. Whereas animal studies have suggested that both cutaneous and proprioceptive percepts can be evoked using this approach, the perceptual quality of the stimuli cannot be measured in these experiments. We show that microstimulation within the hand area of the somatosensory cortex of a person with long-term spinal cord injury evokes tactile sensations perceived as originating from locations on the hand and that cortical stimulation sites are organized according to expected somatotopic principles. Many of these percepts exhibit naturalistic characteristics (including feelings of pressure), can be evoked at low stimulation amplitudes, and remain stable for months. Further, modulating the stimulus amplitude grades the perceptual intensity of the stimuli, suggesting that intracortical microstimulation could be used to convey information about the contact location and pressure necessary to perform dexterous hand movements associated with object manipulation.

Medical Subject Headings

Adult; Brain-Computer Interfaces; Electric Stimulation; Electrodes, Implanted; Hand (physiology); Humans; Male; Man-Machine Systems; Microelectrodes; Movement; Paralysis (rehabilitation); Signal-To-Noise Ratio; Somatosensory Cortex (physiology); Touch; Treatment Outcome

Publication Date

10-19-2016

Publication Title

Science translational medicine

E-ISSN

1946-6242

Volume

8

Issue

361

First Page

361ra141

PubMed ID

27738096

Digital Object Identifier (DOI)

10.1126/scitranslmed.aaf8083

Recommended Citation

Flesher, Sharlene N.; Collinger, Jennifer L.; Foldes, Stephen T.; Weiss, Jeffrey M.; Downey, John E.; Tyler-Kabara, Elizabeth C.; Bensmaia, Sliman J.; Schwartz, Andrew B.; Boninger, Michael L.; and Gaunt, Robert A., "Intracortical microstimulation of human somatosensory cortex" (2016). Translational Neuroscience. 2205.
https://scholar.barrowneuro.org/neurobiology/2205