Effects of Peripheral Haptic Feedback on Intracortical Brain-Computer Interface Control and Associated Sensory Responses in Motor Cortex

AbstractIntracortical brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs) provide people with paralysis a means to control devices with signals decoded from brain activity. Despite recent impressive advances, these devices still cannot approach able-bodied levels of control. To achieve naturalistic control and improved performance of neural prostheses, iBCIs will likely need to include proprioceptive feedback. With the goal of providing proprioceptive feedback via mechanical haptic stimulation, we aim to understand how haptic stimulation affects motor cortical neurons and ultimately, iBCI control. We provided skin shear haptic stimulation as a substitute for proprioception to the back of the neck of a person with tetraplegia. The neck location was determined via assessment of touch sensitivity using a monofilament test kit. The participant was able to correctly report skin shear at the back of the neck in 8 unique directions with 65% accuracy. We found motor cortical units that exhibited sensory responses to shear stimuli, some of which were strongly tuned to the stimuli and well modeled by cosine-shaped functions. We also demonstrated online iBCI cursor control with continuous skin-shear feedback driven by decoded command signals. Cursor control performance increased slightly but significantly when the participant was given haptic feedback, compared to the purely visual feedback condition.

Download Full-text

Dopaminergic modulation of transcallosal activity of cat motor cortical neurons

Neuroscience Research ◽

10.1016/s0168-0102(98)00108-4 ◽

1999 ◽

Vol 33 (1) ◽

pp. 33-40 ◽

Cited By ~ 7

Author(s):

Kadrul Huda ◽

Thucidydes L. Salunga ◽

Syed A. Chowdhury ◽

Takashi Kawashima ◽

Ken’ichi Matsunami

Keyword(s):

Cortical Neurons ◽

Dopaminergic Modulation ◽

Motor Cortical

Download Full-text

Effect of Nicorandil on the Spatial Arrangement of Primary Motor Cortical Neurons in the Sub-Acute Phase of Stroke in a Rat Model

Journal of Chemical Neuroanatomy ◽

10.1016/j.jchemneu.2021.102000 ◽

2021 ◽

pp. 102000

Author(s):

Maryam Owjfard ◽

Zohreh Taghadosi ◽

Mohammad Reza Bigdeli ◽

Anahid Safari ◽

Asadollah Zarifkar ◽

...

Keyword(s):

Acute Phase ◽

Rat Model ◽

Cortical Neurons ◽

Spatial Arrangement ◽

Motor Cortical

Download Full-text

Attention Enhancement for Exoskeleton-Assisted Hand Rehabilitation Using Fingertip Haptic Stimulation

Frontiers in Robotics and AI ◽

10.3389/frobt.2021.602091 ◽

2021 ◽

Vol 8 ◽

Author(s):

Min Li ◽

Jiazhou Chen ◽

Guoying He ◽

Lei Cui ◽

Chaoyang Chen ◽

...

Keyword(s):

User Study ◽

Haptic Feedback ◽

Human Subjects ◽

Control Process ◽

Water System ◽

Recording Device ◽

Hand Rehabilitation ◽

Healthy Human ◽

Hand Motion ◽

Haptic Stimulation

Active enrollment in rehabilitation training yields better treatment outcomes. This paper introduces an exoskeleton-assisted hand rehabilitation system. It is the first attempt to combine fingertip cutaneous haptic stimulation with exoskeleton-assisted hand rehabilitation for training participation enhancement. For the first time, soft material 3D printing techniques are adopted to make soft pneumatic fingertip haptic feedback actuators to achieve cheaper and faster iterations of prototype designs with consistent quality. The fingertip haptic stimulation is synchronized with the motion of our hand exoskeleton. The contact force of the fingertips resulted from a virtual interaction with a glass of water was based on data collected from normal hand motions to grasp a glass of water. System characterization experiments were conducted and exoskeleton-assisted hand motion with and without the fingertip cutaneous haptic stimulation were compared in an experiment involving healthy human subjects. Users’ attention levels were monitored in the motion control process using a Brainlink EEG-recording device and software. The results of characterization experiments show that our created haptic actuators are lightweight (6.8 ± 0.23 g each with a PLA fixture and Velcro) and their performance is consistent and stable with small hysteresis. The user study experimental results show that participants had significantly higher attention levels with additional haptic stimulations compared to when only the exoskeleton was deployed; heavier stimulated grasping weight (a 300 g glass) was associated with significantly higher attention levels of the participants compared to when lighter stimulated grasping weight (a 150 g glass) was applied. We conclude that haptic stimulations increase the involvement level of human subjects during exoskeleton-assisted hand exercises. Potentially, the proposed exoskeleton-assisted hand rehabilitation with fingertip stimulation may better attract user’s attention during treatment.

Download Full-text

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation to Facilitate Lower Limb Recovery Following Stroke: Current Evidence and Future Directions

Brain Sciences ◽

10.3390/brainsci10050310 ◽

2020 ◽

Vol 10 (5) ◽

pp. 310

Author(s):

Samuel Gowan ◽

Brenton Hordacre

Keyword(s):

Direct Current ◽

Transcranial Direct Current Stimulation ◽

Lower Limb ◽

Cortical Neurons ◽

Brain Activity ◽

Current Evidence ◽

Potential Candidate ◽

Limb Function ◽

Direct Current Stimulation ◽

Lower Limb Function

Stroke remains a global leading cause of disability. Novel treatment approaches are required to alleviate impairment and promote greater functional recovery. One potential candidate is transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), which is thought to non-invasively promote neuroplasticity within the human cortex by transiently altering the resting membrane potential of cortical neurons. To date, much work involving tDCS has focused on upper limb recovery following stroke. However, lower limb rehabilitation is important for regaining mobility, balance, and independence and could equally benefit from tDCS. The purpose of this review is to discuss tDCS as a technique to modulate brain activity and promote recovery of lower limb function following stroke. Preliminary evidence from both healthy adults and stroke survivors indicates that tDCS is a promising intervention to support recovery of lower limb function. Studies provide some indication of both behavioral and physiological changes in brain activity following tDCS. However, much work still remains to be performed to demonstrate the clinical potential of this neuromodulatory intervention. Future studies should consider treatment targets based on individual lesion characteristics, stage of recovery (acute vs. chronic), and residual white matter integrity while accounting for known determinants and biomarkers of tDCS response.

Download Full-text

Bicuculline-induced enhancement of sensory responses and cross-correlations between reticular formation and cortical neurons

Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology ◽

10.1016/0013-4694(83)90208-0 ◽

1983 ◽

Vol 55 (3) ◽

pp. 301-313 ◽

Cited By ~ 12

Author(s):

C.L Faingold ◽

W.E Hoffmann ◽

D.M Caspary

Keyword(s):

Reticular Formation ◽

Cortical Neurons ◽

Cross Correlations ◽

Sensory Responses

Download Full-text

Hypothetical joint-related coordinate systems in which populations of motor cortical neurons code direction of voluntary arm movements

Neuroscience Letters ◽

10.1016/0304-3940(94)90493-6 ◽

1994 ◽

Vol 180 (2) ◽

pp. 83-86 ◽

Cited By ~ 9

Author(s):

Shoji Tanaka

Keyword(s):

Cortical Neurons ◽

Arm Movements ◽

Coordinate Systems ◽

Motor Cortical

Download Full-text

Computer Simulation of Post-Spike Facilitation in Spike-Triggered Averages of Rectified EMG

Journal of Neurophysiology ◽

10.1152/jn.1998.80.3.1391 ◽

1998 ◽

Vol 80 (3) ◽

pp. 1391-1406 ◽

Cited By ~ 41

Author(s):

S. N. Baker ◽

R. N. Lemon

Keyword(s):

Computer Simulation ◽

Action Potential ◽

Motor Unit ◽

Cortical Neurons ◽

Emg Activity ◽

Motor Unit Action Potential ◽

Cortical Cells ◽

Motor Unit Action ◽

Motor Cortical ◽

Unit Action

Baker, S. N. and R. N. Lemon. Computer simulation of post-spike facilitation in spike-triggered averages of rectified EMG. J. Neurophysiol. 80: 1391–1406, 1998. When the spikes of a motor cortical cell are used to compile a spike-triggered average (STA) of rectified electromyographic (EMG) activity, a post-spike facilitation (PSF) is sometimes seen. This is generally thought to be indicative of direct corticomotoneuronal (CM) connections. However, it has been claimed that a PSF could be caused by synchronization between CM and non-CM cells. This study investigates the generation of PSF using a computer model. A population of cortical cells was simulated, some of which made CM connections to a pool of 103 motoneurons. Motoneurons were simulated using a biophysically realistic model. A subpopulation of the cortical cells was synchronized together. After a motoneuron discharge, a motor unit action potential was generated; these were summed to produce an EMG output. Realistic values were used for the corticospinal and peripheral nerve conduction velocity distribution, for slowing of impulse conduction in CM terminal axons, and for the amount of cortical synchrony. STA of the rectified EMG from all cortical neurons showed PSF; however, these were qualitatively different for CM versus non-CM cells. Using an epoch analysis to determine reliability in a quantitative manner, it was shown that the onset latency of PSF did not distinguish the two classes of cells after 10,000 spikes because of high noise in the averages. The time of the PSF peak and the peak width at half-maximum (PWHM) could separate CM from synchrony effects. However, only PWHM was robust against changes in motor unit action-potential shape and duration and against changes in the width of cortical synchrony. The amplitude of PSF from a CM cell could be doubled by the presence of synchrony. It is proposed that, if a PSF has PWHM <7 ms, this reliably indicates that the trigger is a CM cell projecting to the muscle whose EMG is averaged. In an analysis of experimental data where macaque motor cortical cells facilitated hand and forearm muscle EMG, 74% of PSFs fulfilled this criterion. The PWHM criterion could be applied to other STA studies in which it is important to exclude the effects of synchrony.

Download Full-text