Open AccessInjecting Information into the Mammalian Cortex: Progress, Challenges, and Promise
Author(s) -
Kevin A. Mazurek,
Marc H. Schieber
Publication year - 2020
Publication title -
neuroscientist
Language(s) - English
Resource type - Journals
SCImago Journal Rank - 2.328
H-Index - 125
eISSN - 1089-4098
pISSN - 1073-8584
DOI - 10.1177/1073858420936253
Subject(s) - optogenetics , neuroscience , stimulation , sensory system , neuroprosthetics , natural (archaeology) , adaptation (eye) , electrical brain stimulation , psychology , sensation , neural activity , sensory stimulation therapy , brain stimulation , neuroplasticity , computer science , cognitive science , biology , paleontology
For 150 years artificial stimulation has been used to study the function of the nervous system. Such stimulation-whether electrical or optogenetic-eventually may be used in neuroprosthetic devices to replace lost sensory inputs and to otherwise introduce information into the nervous system. Efforts toward this goal can be classified broadly as either biomimetic or arbitrary. Biomimetic stimulation aims to mimic patterns of natural neural activity, so that the subject immediately experiences the artificial stimulation as if it were natural sensation. Arbitrary stimulation, in contrast, makes no attempt to mimic natural patterns of neural activity. Instead, different stimuli-at different locations and/or in different patterns-are assigned different meanings randomly. The subject's time and effort then are required to learn to interpret different stimuli, a process that engages the brain's inherent plasticity. Here we will examine progress in using artificial stimulation to inject information into the cerebral cortex and discuss the challenges for and the promise of future development.