Neural Engineering Seminar
Speaker: Preethisiri Bhat
Advisor: Prof. E. Graczyk
Speaker: Preethisiri Bhat
Advisor: Prof. E. Graczyk
Title: Sensory experience and neural response of peripheral nerve stimulation in primary somatosensory cortex in humans
Abstract: Peripheral nerve stimulation (PNS) can restore the sense of touch in individuals with sensory deficits, such as those experienced after limb loss or spinal cord injury. While prior studies have demonstrated the ability of PNS to produce sensory percepts, how the human brain encodes sensation from PNS remains unclear. To address this gap, we studied how modulating individual PNS parameters affected the evoked sensation and cortical response in the primary somatosensory cortex (S1). Stimulation was delivered to a participant with sensory-incomplete, AIS-B C3/C4 spinal cord injury through individual contacts of 16-channel Composite Flat Interface Nerve Electrodes (C-FINEs) placed around the median and ulnar nerves. Various perceptual metrics such as perceived intensity and naturalness were recorded per trial and the neural activity was recorded from two 64-channel Utah arrays located in S1. In this presentation, we will cover the perceptual and cortical results of modulating pulse width and the stimulation duration of PNS. These findings could help with the design of future biomimetic stimulation patterns to improve the naturalness of sensation.