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Microstimulation of visual cortex to restore vision.

Edward J Tehovnik1, Warren M Slocum, Stelios M Smirnakis

  • 1Department of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, Massachusetts Institute of Technology, Cambridge, MA, USA. tehovnik@mit.edu

Progress in Brain Research
|August 8, 2009
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Summary
This summary is machine-generated.

Developing a visual prosthetic requires an animal model. Research using electrical microstimulation in monkeys suggests this approach can accelerate the creation of devices to restore vision for the blind.

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Area of Science:

  • Neuroscience
  • Biomedical Engineering
  • Ophthalmology

Background:

  • The development of functional visuo-cortical prosthetics for restoring vision is hindered by the lack of suitable animal models.
  • Electrical microstimulation of the striate cortex (area V1) in alert, behaving monkeys has been explored to understand its effects on motor behaviors.

Purpose of the Study:

  • To review the potential of animal models, specifically monkeys, in guiding the development of visuo-cortical prosthetics.
  • To investigate the perceptual effects of electrical stimulation in area V1 and its implications for vision restoration.

Main Methods:

  • Electrical microstimulation experiments on alert, behaving monkeys (both intact and with retinal lesions).
  • Analysis of oculo- and skeleto-motor behaviors in response to V1 stimulation.
  • Review of existing literature on visual prosthetics and cortical stimulation.

Main Results:

  • Electrical microstimulation of V1 can elicit 'delay fields' that affect visually guided saccades, providing a method to study phosphenes.
  • Monkeys can detect low currents (1-2 microA) in V1, with <5 microA needed for featured phosphenes.
  • Partial retinal lesions are more informative than complete lesions for studying blindness effects on phosphene induction.

Conclusions:

  • An animal model, as demonstrated with monkeys, can accelerate the development of visuo-cortical prosthetics, analogous to cochlear implant development.
  • Studying electrically induced phosphenes in V1 using methods like delay fields and lever-press detection is crucial.
  • Future research should focus on multi-electrode stimulation interactions and V1 circuitry for mediating phosphenes to advance prosthetic design.