Many illnesses and injuries, including stroke, diabetes or spinal cord injury, can produce loss of touch, which makes everyday movements difficult and takes an emotional toll on patients. Imagine not being able to feel a hot cup or the hand holding yours. Previously, through BCI technology, researchers have been able to electrically stimulate certain (gyral) areas of the brain and restore some sensation to the hand. Through this new research, scientists have successfully shown that stimulation of harder to reach (sulcal) areas of the brain using stereoelectroencephalography (SEEG) electrodes can evoke precise sensory percepts in the fingertips.
Through a minimally invasive procedure led by the Institute of Bioelectronic Medicine at the Feinstein Institutes, two patients were implanted with the SEEG electrodes in the sulci (grooves) of the brain. While providing electrical stimulation the study participants reported feelings of tingling or sensation of electricity localized to the hand and fingertips. To research the brain’s response, the same electrodes used for stimulation were also used to record neural signals during mechanical stimulation of the hand. This process has allowed researchers to deepen the current knowledge of neural circuitry involved in processing touch-related sensations in the human brain.
More information:
https://www.technologynetworks.com/tn/news/brain-implant-electrodes-evoke-sense-of-touch-352212