Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex
Tactile feedback from brain-controlled bionic hands can be partially restored via intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of the primary somatosensory cortex. In ICMS, the location of percepts depends on the electrode's location and the percept intensity depends on the stimulation frequency and amplitude. Sensors on a bionic hand can thus be linked to somatotopically appropriate electrodes, and the contact force of each sensor can be used to determine the amplitude of a stimulus. Here we report a systematic investigation of the localization and intensity of ICMS-evoked percepts in three participants with cervical spinal cord injury. A retrospective analysis of projected fields showed that they were typically composed of a focal hotspot with diffuse borders, arrayed somatotopically in keeping with their underlying receptive fields and stable throughout the duration of the study. When testing the participants' ability to rapidly localize a single ICMS presentation, individual electrodes typically evoked only weak sensations, making object localization and discrimination difficult. However, overlapping projected fields from multiple electrodes produced more localizable and intense sensations and allowed for a more precise use of a bionic hand.
Authors
- Emily E. Fitzgerald
- Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4913-6051)
- Robert F. Kirsch (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2564-1800)
- Jennifer L. Collinger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4517-5395)
- Jorge Alvaro Gonzalez-Martinez (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9936-7034)
- Dillan Prasad (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2161-3282)
- Emily L. Graczyk (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1467-8616)
- Sliman J. Bensmaı̈a (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-4039-9135)
- Michael L. Boninger (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6966-919X)
- A. Bolu Ajiboye (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9402-1165)
- Ashley van Driesche
- Charles M. Greenspon (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-6806-3302)
- Ray C. Lee
- Giacomo Valle (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2637-8007)
- Taylor G. Hobbs (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8593-6910)
- David Satzer (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8573-1555)
- Anton R. Sobinov (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-0513-9194)
- Ceci Verbaarschot (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7778-1421)
- Lee E. Miller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8675-7140)
- Peter C. Warnke (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7989-5692)
- Jeffrey M. Weiss (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1332-674X)
- John E. Downey (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2992-2848)
- Thierri Callier (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-8645-2005)
- Jonathan P. Miller (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-5441-1751)
- Elizaveta V. Okorokova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-2719-2706)
- Robert A. Gaunt (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6202-5818)
- Ev I Berger-Wolf (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7467-425X)
- Natalya Shelchkova (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-2570-0575)
- Brianna C. Hutchison
- Efe Dogruoz
- Fang Liu (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0001-6723-4512)
- Patrick M. Jordan
- Qinpu He (ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0003-1669-7570)
Institutions
- Northwestern University (US)
- Shirley Ryan AbilityLab (US)
- University of Pittsburgh (US)
- University of Illinois Chicago (US)
- University of Chicago (US)
- Schwab Rehabilitation Hospital (US)
- Louis Stokes Cleveland VA Medical Center (US)
- Neurological Surgery (US)
- The Neurological Institute (US)
- Case Western Reserve University (US)
- Carnegie Mellon University (US)
Publication Details
- Journal
- Nature Biomedical Engineering
- Published
- 2024-12-06
- DOI
- https://doi.org/10.1038/s41551-024-01299-z
- Citations
- 41
- Primary Topic
- EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Type
- article
- Field-Weighted Citation Impact
- 14.05
Funders
- U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs
- University of Pittsburgh
- Case Western Reserve University
- National Institutes of Health
- National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke
- Congressionally Directed Medical Research Programs