Sensory Nerve Stimulation with Implantable Sieve Electrodes for the Artificial Sensation.

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We have developed the implantable sieve electrodes for the Brain-Machine Interface (BMI), previously for the purpose of recording action potentials from peripheral nerve fibers, with witch to control artificial machines such as an artificial hand. In this study we demonstrated that the sieve electrodes also successfully worked as stimulation electrodes to elicit artificial sensation on rats. These electrodes were implanted in rat chorda tympani nerves or posterior auricular nerves. Electrical stimulations through electrodes implanted in posterior auricular nerves often caused quick pinna-movements similar to the pinna reflex caused by brief air-puff stimulation on a pinna in normal rats. These pinna-movements were concluded that they were elicited not due to direct stimulations of posterior auricular muscles but due to sensory reflex to excitations of posterior auricular nerves. Iridium was coated on the electrodes to increase their current passage capabilities through formation of an oxide on the surface. In most cases, effects of electrical stimulations with a sieve electrode continued for several months unless accidentally the head cap or the wire of the electrode was broken. The longest case of recordable periods was about seven month. These results indicate the sieve electrodes are useful to the interface for the artificial sensation.