Cortical basis of complex motor sequences in humans for neural interfaces

项目摘要 皮质内脑机接口（iBCIs）可以恢复严重脑梗死患者失去的功能。 由于神经损伤或疾病导致的言语和运动障碍（SSMI）。尽管巨大的 尽管最近取得了一些进展，iBCI的表现仍然远远低于健全人。在之前的NIH- 支持的研究，我们的合作团队开发了一个高性能的皮质内大脑， 计算机接口（iBCI），直接从大脑活动中解码手臂运动意图。 这项技术使SSMI患者能够以足够的速度控制计算机光标。 速度和精度高达8字/分钟的类型，并已实现完全控制的未经修改的 仅使用解码的运动皮层活动的消费者设备。在拟定的U 01临床试验中， 研究，我们将采取一个重要的下一步领域：研究神经集成 在只有人能够执行的复杂任务期间进行编码（即，任意移动 肢体和身体部位的组合，以及笔迹）。这项工作将建立在几十年来 研究人类和非人类灵长类动物运动系统的经验，最终目标是 先进的iBCI技术，并将作为多站点BrainGate的一部分进行 财团我们建议详细研究，在“粗”和“细”尺度上， 脑回（PCG;“运动皮层”）产生复杂的运动。我们的调查将基于 我们实验室的两个新的关键发现：1）PCG的一个小区域编码 所有4个肢体以“合成”的方式，允许区分单独的肢体和运动 编码维度，以及2）复杂，灵巧的运动，如手写， 从瘫痪病人的心音图中准确解码出来这些详细的结果 基础的神经科学研究将使我们能够设计和展示两个完全不同的 新的iBCI：一个帮助恢复整个身体在虚拟现实中连续运动的系统 （“全身iBCI”）和一个系统，以大大提高屏幕上的文本生成速度 （“手写iBCI”）。最后，我们将继续评估基于Utah阵列的 通过正在进行的BrainGate 2试点临床试验， 神经伦理学考虑。完成后，该项目将提高 iBCIs用于恢复失去的功能以及我们对iBCIs的详细神经机制的理解 复杂的动作。

PROJECT SUMMARY Intracortical brain-computer interfaces (iBCIs) can restore lost function for people with severe speech and motor impairment (SSMI) due to neurological injury or disease. Despite tremendous recent progress, iBCI performance remains well below that of able-bodied people. In prior NIH- supported research, our collaborative team developed a high-performance intracortical brain- computer interface (iBCI) that decodes arm movement intentions directly from brain activity. This technology has allowed people with SSMI to control a computer cursor with sufficient speed and accuracy to type at up to 8 words/min and has enabled full control of unmodified consumer devices using only decoded motor cortical activity. In the proposed U01 clinical research, we will take an important next step for the field: investigating neural ensemble encoding during complex tasks that only people are capable of performing (i.e., moving arbitrary combinations of limbs and body parts, and handwriting). This work will build upon decades of experience in studying the motor system in humans and non-human primates, with the end goal of advancing iBCI technology, and will be performed as part of the multi-site BrainGate consortium. We propose to study in detail, at 'coarse' and 'fine' scales, how the Precentral Gyrus (PCG; “motor cortex”) generates complex movements. We will base our investigations on two new key discoveries from our lab: 1) that a small area of the PCG encodes movements of all 4 limbs in a ‘compositional’ way, allowing differentiation of separate limb and movement encoding dimensions, and 2) that complex, dexterous movements such as handwriting can be accurately decoded from the PCG of people with paralysis. The results of these detailed fundamental neuroscience studies will enable us to then design and demonstrate two entirely new iBCIs: a system for helping restore continuous motion of the entire body in virtual reality (‘Whole-Body iBCI') and a system to substantially increase on-screen text generation speed (‘Handwriting iBCI’). Finally, we will continue to evaluate the safety profile of Utah-array based iBCIs through the ongoing BrainGate2 pilot clinical trial, with particular emphasis on critical neuroethics considerations. Upon completion, this project will advance both the capabilities of iBCIs for restoration of lost function and our understanding of the detailed neural mechanisms of complex movements.