As the needs of disabled patients are increasingly recognized in society, researchers have begun to use single neuron activity to construct brain-computer interfaces （BCI）, designed to facilitate the daily lives of ...As the needs of disabled patients are increasingly recognized in society, researchers have begun to use single neuron activity to construct brain-computer interfaces （BCI）, designed to facilitate the daily lives of individuals with physical disabilities. BCI systems typically allow users to control computer programs or external devices via signals produced in the motor or pre-motor areas of the brain, rather than producing actual motor movements. However, impairments in these brain areas can hinder the application of BCI. The current paper demonstrates the feasibility of a one-dimensional （ID） machine controlled by rat prefrontal cortex （PFC） neurons using an encoding method. In this novel system, rats are able to quench thirst by varying neuronal firing rate in the PFC to manipulate a water dish that can rotate in 1 D. The results revealed that control commands generated by an appropriate firing frequency in rat PFC exhibited performance improvements with practice, indicated by increasing water-drinking duration and frequency. These results demonstrated that it is possible for rats to understand an encoding-based BCI system and control a 1D machine using PFC activity to obtain reward.展开更多
基金supported by the Brain Research Center of the 21st Century Frontier Research Program (Grant No. 2009K001280)funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology, Republic of Koreathe Industrial Source Technology Development Program (Grant No. 10033634-2009-11) of the Ministry of Knowledge Economy (MKE) of Koreathe Priority Research Centers Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF) funded by the Ministry of Education,Science and Technology (Grant No. 2009-0094073)
文摘As the needs of disabled patients are increasingly recognized in society, researchers have begun to use single neuron activity to construct brain-computer interfaces （BCI）, designed to facilitate the daily lives of individuals with physical disabilities. BCI systems typically allow users to control computer programs or external devices via signals produced in the motor or pre-motor areas of the brain, rather than producing actual motor movements. However, impairments in these brain areas can hinder the application of BCI. The current paper demonstrates the feasibility of a one-dimensional （ID） machine controlled by rat prefrontal cortex （PFC） neurons using an encoding method. In this novel system, rats are able to quench thirst by varying neuronal firing rate in the PFC to manipulate a water dish that can rotate in 1 D. The results revealed that control commands generated by an appropriate firing frequency in rat PFC exhibited performance improvements with practice, indicated by increasing water-drinking duration and frequency. These results demonstrated that it is possible for rats to understand an encoding-based BCI system and control a 1D machine using PFC activity to obtain reward.
