Dataset Information

Brain-machine interface cursor position only weakly affects monkey and human motor cortical activity in the absence of arm movements.

ABSTRACT: Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that decode movement intentions should ignore neural modulation sources distinct from the intended command. However, neurophysiology and control theory suggest that motor cortex reflects the motor effector's position, which could be a nuisance variable. We investigated motor cortical correlates of BMI cursor position with or without concurrent arm movement. We show in two monkeys that subtracting away estimated neural correlates of position improves online BMI performance only if the animals were allowed to move their arm. To understand why, we compared the neural variance attributable to cursor position when the same task was performed using arm reaching, versus arms-restrained BMI use. Firing rates correlated with both BMI cursor and hand positions, but hand positional effects were greater. To examine whether BMI position influences decoding in people with paralysis, we analyzed data from two intracortical BMI clinical trial participants and performed an online decoder comparison in one participant. We found only small motor cortical correlates, which did not affect performance. These results suggest that arm movement and proprioception are the major contributors to position-related motor cortical correlates. Cursor position visual feedback is therefore unlikely to affect the performance of BMI-driven prosthetic systems being developed for people with paralysis.

SUBMITTER: Stavisky SD

PROVIDER: S-EPMC6218537 | biostudies-literature | 2018 Nov

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature

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Brain-machine interface cursor position only weakly affects monkey and human motor cortical activity in the absence of arm movements.

Stavisky Sergey D SD Kao Jonathan C JC Nuyujukian Paul P Pandarinath Chethan C Blabe Christine C Ryu Stephen I SI Hochberg Leigh R LR Henderson Jaimie M JM Shenoy Krishna V KV

Scientific reports 20181105 1

Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) that decode movement intentions should ignore neural modulation sources distinct from the intended command. However, neurophysiology and control theory suggest that motor cortex reflects the motor effector's position, which could be a nuisance variable. We investigated motor cortical correlates of BMI cursor position with or without concurrent arm movement. We show in two monkeys that subtracting away estimated neural correlates of position improves online BMI per ...[more]

PMID: 30397281

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Project description:BackgroundThe recovery of upper limb mobility and functions is essential for people with cervical spinal cord injuries (cSCI) to maximize independence in daily activities and ensure a successful return to normality. The rehabilitative path should include a thorough neuromotor evaluation and personalized treatments aimed at recovering motor functions. Body-machine interfaces (BoMI) have been proven to be capable of harnessing residual joint motions to control objects like computer cursors and virtual or physical wheelchairs and to promote motor recovery. However, their therapeutic application has still been limited to shoulder movements. Here, we expanded the use of BoMI to promote the whole arm's mobility, with a special focus on elbow movements. We also developed an instrumented evaluation test and a set of kinematic indicators for assessing residual abilities and recovery.MethodsFive inpatient cSCI subjects (four acute, one chronic) participated in a BoMI treatment complementary to their standard rehabilitative routine. The subjects wore a BoMI with sensors placed on both proximal and distal arm districts and practiced for 5 weeks. The BoMI was programmed to promote symmetry between right and left arms use and the forearms' mobility while playing games. To evaluate the effectiveness of the treatment, the subjects' kinematics were recorded while performing an evaluation test that involved functional bilateral arms movements, before, at the end, and three months after training.ResultsAt the end of the training, all subjects learned to efficiently use the interface despite being compelled by it to engage their most impaired movements. The subjects completed the training with bilateral symmetry in body recruitment, already present at the end of the familiarization, and they increased the forearm activity. The instrumental evaluation confirmed this. The elbow motion's angular amplitude improved for all subjects, and other kinematic parameters showed a trend towards the normality range.ConclusionThe outcomes are preliminary evidence supporting the efficacy of the proposed BoMI as a rehabilitation tool to be considered for clinical practice. It also suggests an instrumental evaluation protocol and a set of indicators to assess and evaluate motor impairment and recovery in cSCI.

Dataset Information

Brain-machine interface cursor position only weakly affects monkey and human motor cortical activity in the absence of arm movements.

Publications

Brain-machine interface cursor position only weakly affects monkey and human motor cortical activity in the absence of arm movements.

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