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Optimizing electrical stimulation parameters to enhance visual cortex activation in retina degeneration rats
Hui Xie1,2, Zixin Ye1, Leanne Lai Hang Chan3
1Department of Electrical Engineering, City University of Hong Kong, 83 Tat Chee Avenue, Kowloon, Hong Kong SAR, China.
Scientific Reports
|July 17, 2025
Summary
Optimizing electrical stimulation for retinal prostheses can improve vision restoration. Shorter phase durations and interphase intervals reduce activation thresholds and constrain cortical responses, enhancing device performance.
Area of Science:
- Biomedical Engineering
- Neuroscience
- Ophthalmology
Background:
- Degenerative retinal diseases cause vision loss.
- Retinal prostheses offer a potential solution for vision restoration.
- Epiretinal prostheses show promise, but require optimized stimulation parameters.
Purpose of the Study:
- To investigate the impact of electrical stimulation parameters on visual cortical electrically evoked potentials (EEPs).
- To determine optimal parameters for enhancing epiretinal prosthesis efficiency and reducing power consumption.
Main Methods:
- In vivo experiments were conducted on healthy Long-Evans (LE) rats and retinal degenerated (F1) rats.
- Key electrical stimulation parameters including phase duration, frequency, and interphase interval (IPI) were systematically varied.
- Electrically evoked potentials (EEPs) in the primary visual cortex (V1) were measured to assess cortical activation.
Main Results:
- Shorter phase durations (500 µs) lowered charge thresholds for V1 activation.
- High stimulation frequencies (10 and 20 Hz) significantly attenuated responses compared to low frequency (1 Hz).
- Longer phase durations (1000 and 1500 µs) and the inclusion of IPI confined the spread of cortical activation.
Conclusions:
- Adjusting phase duration effectively reduces activation thresholds and spatially constrains cortical responses.
- Interphase interval (IPI) application limits the extent of cortical responses.
- Optimized stimulation parameters offer a strategy for improving epiretinal prosthesis performance.
