NEC Seminar, Friday, Feb. 9, 9:00 AM
iN person in Wickenden 321
Speaker: Meron Abate
Advisor: Prof. B. Ajiboye
Abstract
Brain-machine interfaces (BMIs) offer potential for restoring hand and arm function in individuals with tetraplegia due to spinal cord injuries (SCIs). Grasp force control is a crucial aspect of upper limb movement necessary for dexterous object interaction and manipulation. In the research on BMI-driven upper limb restoration, a significant portion has focused on kinematic control, while research on kinetic (force-related) control through BMI has been limited. The studies on kinetic control have shown that kinetic information persists in the cortex after tetraplegia. However, these studies achieved suboptimal decoding accuracy, possibly due to a lack of task-relevant sensory feedback during force-matching experiments. Despite the significant role of sensory feedback in fine grasp force control, the impact of providing force-related feedback, specifically somatosensory feedback, during BMI control of grasp force has not yet been investigated. This project aims to explore the effect of including force-related tactile feedback through intact somatosensation and intracortical microstimulation (ICMS), in addition to realistic visual feedback, on the neural representation of grasp force.