Building brain-machine interfaces to restore neurological functions

Modern research on brain-machine interfaces (BMI) is a highly multidisciplinary field that has been developing at a stunning pace since the first experiment conducted 8 years ago that demonstrated direct control of a robotic manipulator by ensembles of neurons recorded in cortical and subcortical areas in awake, behaving rats (Chapin, Moxon et al. 1999). Since this pioneering study, an exponentially growing stream of research publications has provoked an enormous interest in BMIs among scientists from different fields and the lay public. This level of interest stems from both the use of BMIs to investigate the way large and distributed neural circuits operate in behaving animals and the perceived potential that BMI technology can realize for restoration of motor behaviors and other functions in patients suffering from devastating neurological conditions.

Duke Scholars

Author Miguel Angelo L. Nicolelis Neurobiology