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  • Review Article
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Technology Insight: future neuroprosthetic therapies for disorders of the nervous system

Nature Clinical Practice Neurology volume 3, pages 444–452 (2007)Cite this article

Abstract

Most disorders of the nervous system result from localized sensory or motor pathologies attributable to disease or trauma. The emerging field of neuroprosthetics is focused on the development of therapeutic interventions that will be able to restore some of this lost neural function by selective electrical stimulation of sensory or motor pathways, or by harnessing activity recorded from remnant neural pathways. A key element in this restoration of function has been the development of a new generation of penetrating microelectrode arrays that provide unprecedented selective access to the neurons of the CNS and PNS. The active tips of these microelectrode arrays penetrate the nervous tissues and abut against small populations of neurons or nerve fibers, thereby providing selective access to these cells. These electrode arrays are not only beginning to provide researchers with the ability to better study the spatiotemporal information processing performed by the nervous system, they can also form the basis for new therapies for disorders of the nervous system. In this Review, three examples of this new generation of microelectrode arrays are described, as are potential therapeutic applications in blindness and spinal cord injury, and for the control of prosthetic limbs.

Key Points

  • Neuroprosthetic devices are therapeutic interventions that restore lost neural function by electrical stimulation of sensory or motor pathways, or by harnessing activity recorded from remnant neural pathways

  • Research teams at the Universities of Utah and Michigan have developed high-electrode-count, penetrating microelectrode arrays that interface with the CNS and PNS

  • The Utah Electrode Array was originally developed as a means of restoring limited but useful sight to individuals with profound blindness

  • The Utah Slanted Electrode Array can produce a sit-to-stand maneuver in an animal model; similar approaches might eventually be applied to patients with spinal cord injury

  • Another promising application of neuroprosthetic technology is the control of prosthetic limbs via recording and stimulation of severed peripheral nerves

  • In the future, neuroprosthetic technology might also be applied to bladder and bowel control, pacing of the diaphragm, and control of epilepsy and chronic depression

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Figure 1: Neural interfaces
Figure 2: Single-unit responses from sciatic nerve recorded with a Utah Slanted Electrode Array
Figure 3: Drawing of a cortex-based artificial vision system
Figure 4: Generating a sit-to-stand maneuver in an anesthetized cat
Figure 5: Illustration of neural interfaces that might control the 'next generation' of prosthetic arms

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Acknowledgements

Much of the work described was performed in collaboration with the following colleagues: Gregory Clark, Nicholas Brown, Daniel McDonnall, Almut Branner, Andrew Wilder, Brett Dowden, Scott Hiatt and David Warren. Support for the research was provided by the NIH, the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency, the Telemedicine and Advanced Technologies Research Center and the State of Utah.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. RA Normann is a Professor of Bioengineering and Ophthalmology at the University of Utah, Salt Lake City, UT, USA.,

    Richard A Normann

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  1. Richard A Normann
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Correspondence to Richard A Normann.

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Competing interests

RA Normann has held stock in Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems.

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Normann, R. Technology Insight: future neuroprosthetic therapies for disorders of the nervous system. Nat Rev Neurol 3, 444–452 (2007). https://doi.org/10.1038/ncpneuro0556

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