Healthcare Technology Featured Article

April 16, 2013

Univ. of Washington Researchers Create 'Artificial Bridge' Between Brain and Spinal Cord of Paralyzed Monkey


While spinal cord injuries often cause paralysis because of the severing of wiring systems that carry signals from the brain to certain parts of the body, scientists have long wondered whether it’s possible to “rewire” broken areas, bypassing injuries with an artificial means of transmitting signals.

Since the organic “wiring” often remains functional above and below the point of damage to the spinal cord, it could simply a matter of bypassing the injured area, creating an artificial connection.

New research from the University of Washington in Seattle was able to allow a partially paralyzed monkey to control its arm using an external link between its brain and its injured spinal cord. The researchers were able to build an artificial electrical connection between the injured monkey's brain and an area below the damaged part of its spinal cord.

The research report was published last week in the online journal Frontiers in Neural Circuits.

"In the distant future, it's conceivable that one could get lots of signals in the brain's cortex to trigger lots of stimulation in different spinal sites, and begin to restore some basic functions like grasp and movement," study co-author Eberhard Fetz, a neuroscientist at the University of Washington in Seattle, told LiveScience.

But while the research is promising, co-author Fetz said the technology application for humans is still a long way into the future. Today, about 200,000 Americans are living with spinal cord injuries that could ultimately benefit from this kind of research.

While previous studies have tried to use wire a connection between the part of the brain that causes movement and the muscles, allowing the subject to send artificial signals to the muscles to move them, this experiment saw researchers connected the brain directly to the spine instead of the muscles.

The goal was to enable more coordinated, natural movements in the subject – a macaque monkey.

Researchers surgically implanted electrodes in the motor cortex and premotor cortex of the monkey's brain, in areas that control arm and hand movements. They also implanted electrodes in the monkey's spinal cord, according to Reuters. This created an artificial “bridge” between the brain and the spinal cord, allowing the macaque to flex its wrist muscles.

The researchers say that while the technology is a long way from benefitting humans, it’s a proof-of-concept that a brain-spinal cord connection could be bridged with artificial means.




Edited by Braden Becker
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