An Artificial Interface Between Brain and Hand Muscles Bypasses Damaged Nerves

Researchers here report on the use of a combination of a brain-computer interface and functional electrical stimulation of muscles to bypass damage leading to paralysis of the hand, allowing some degree of restored function. The approach was demonstrated in non-human primates in which nerves connecting the hand to the brain were damaged via surgery. Competition in approaches to the problem of nervous system damage is a good thing, but one would hope that this class of application of brain-computer interface is largely made irrelevant by future advances in regenerative medicine. Paralysis following stroke is a leading cause of long-term motor disability. Brain machine interfaces (BMIs) can transform cortical activity into control signals for an external device, such as a robotic arm or computer cursor, and may provide a solution for restoring lost function. Bypassing the damaged pathway using brain-controlled functional electrical stimulation (FES) to regain volitional control of the paralysed limb is promising for restoring lost motor function. Brain-controlled FES works as an "artificial" neural pathway by creating a causal relationship between brain activity and an evoked limb movement. However, subjects may be required to learn a novel causal input-output relationship to control the paralysed limb. Disruption of descending pathways, as can result from stroke, results in a lost connection between the brain and target muscles. Functional recovery in such a si...
Source: Fight Aging! - Category: Research Authors: Tags: Daily News Source Type: blogs