NeuroControl

Steuerung physiologischer Aktivität in einem neuronalen Netzwerk

01/08/2017 to 31/07/2020

In the proposed project, we address a neurotechnological question common to many neuro-prosthetic and neurorobotic applications: How can near-physiological behaviour be evoked in neural circuits by appropriate interfacing of electronics and application of optimized stimula-tion algorithms?
Specifically, we will focus on neuronal circuits in the mammalian retina, a well-characterized part of the brain for which physiological properties have been described in great detail. Unfor-tunately, despite the fact that very basic neuroprosthetic devices are used in blind patients to produce rudimentary vision, they lack the ability to reproduce visual impressions resembling normal vision.
To make progress in this direction, we ask which stimulation algorithms are necessary to evoke near-physiological activity in ex vivo retina using implantable electronics. Specifically, we will investigate and improve our ability to stimulate the retinal network such that it produc-es output patterns corresponding to the main physiological output channels, i.e. ON and OFF response polarities or sustained and transient responses. The ultimate goal is to be able ro-bustly activate both ON and OFF channels at frequencies corresponding to the physiological flicker fusion frequency. Towards these aims we will develop biophysical computational models to determine optimal stimulation strategies and perform electrical stimulation of ex vivo retinal networks for testing the in silico determined stimulation strategies.