The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces

Microscale neural technologies interface with the nervous system to record and stimulate brain tissue with high spatial and temporal resolution. These devices are being developed to understand the mechanisms that govern brain function, plasticity and cognitive learning, treat neurological diseases,...

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Main Author: Takashi D. Y. Kozai
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: MDPI AG 2018-09-01
Series:Micromachines
Subjects:
Online Access:http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/9/9/445
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spelling doaj-5b7cc2decf18423598f33dfb41030f182020-11-25T00:41:53ZengMDPI AGMicromachines2072-666X2018-09-019944510.3390/mi9090445mi9090445The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural InterfacesTakashi D. Y. Kozai0Department of Bioengineering, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15261, USAMicroscale neural technologies interface with the nervous system to record and stimulate brain tissue with high spatial and temporal resolution. These devices are being developed to understand the mechanisms that govern brain function, plasticity and cognitive learning, treat neurological diseases, or monitor and restore functions over the lifetime of the patient. Despite decades of use in basic research over days to months, and the growing prevalence of neuromodulation therapies, in many cases the lack of knowledge regarding the fundamental mechanisms driving activation has dramatically limited our ability to interpret data or fine-tune design parameters to improve long-term performance. While advances in materials, microfabrication techniques, packaging, and understanding of the nervous system has enabled tremendous innovation in the field of neural engineering, many challenges and opportunities remain at the frontiers of the neural interface in terms of both neurobiology and engineering. In this short-communication, we explore critical needs in the neural engineering field to overcome these challenges. Disentangling the complexities involved in the chronic neural interface problem requires simultaneous proficiency in multiple scientific and engineering disciplines. The critical component of advancing neural interface knowledge is to prepare the next wave of investigators who have simultaneous multi-disciplinary proficiencies with a diverse set of perspectives necessary to solve the chronic neural interface challenge.http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/9/9/445micromachineneurosciencebiocompatibilitytrainingeducationdiversitybiasBRAIN Initiativemulti-disciplinarymicro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
collection DOAJ
language English
format Article
sources DOAJ
author Takashi D. Y. Kozai
spellingShingle Takashi D. Y. Kozai
The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces
Micromachines
micromachine
neuroscience
biocompatibility
training
education
diversity
bias
BRAIN Initiative
multi-disciplinary
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
author_facet Takashi D. Y. Kozai
author_sort Takashi D. Y. Kozai
title The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces
title_short The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces
title_full The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces
title_fullStr The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces
title_full_unstemmed The History and Horizons of Microscale Neural Interfaces
title_sort history and horizons of microscale neural interfaces
publisher MDPI AG
series Micromachines
issn 2072-666X
publishDate 2018-09-01
description Microscale neural technologies interface with the nervous system to record and stimulate brain tissue with high spatial and temporal resolution. These devices are being developed to understand the mechanisms that govern brain function, plasticity and cognitive learning, treat neurological diseases, or monitor and restore functions over the lifetime of the patient. Despite decades of use in basic research over days to months, and the growing prevalence of neuromodulation therapies, in many cases the lack of knowledge regarding the fundamental mechanisms driving activation has dramatically limited our ability to interpret data or fine-tune design parameters to improve long-term performance. While advances in materials, microfabrication techniques, packaging, and understanding of the nervous system has enabled tremendous innovation in the field of neural engineering, many challenges and opportunities remain at the frontiers of the neural interface in terms of both neurobiology and engineering. In this short-communication, we explore critical needs in the neural engineering field to overcome these challenges. Disentangling the complexities involved in the chronic neural interface problem requires simultaneous proficiency in multiple scientific and engineering disciplines. The critical component of advancing neural interface knowledge is to prepare the next wave of investigators who have simultaneous multi-disciplinary proficiencies with a diverse set of perspectives necessary to solve the chronic neural interface challenge.
topic micromachine
neuroscience
biocompatibility
training
education
diversity
bias
BRAIN Initiative
multi-disciplinary
micro-electromechanical systems (MEMS)
url http://www.mdpi.com/2072-666X/9/9/445
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