Projects

---

Projects of current interest in the CNI span a range from basic investigations of information processing in the sensory and motor parts of the nervous system to applied development of new generations of electrode arrays and the instrumentation required by the use of this microelectrode array technology. Specific projects ongoing in the CNI are:

• Development of a cortically based visual prosthesis for the blind.

• Development of a cortical motor prosthesis for the paralyzed
• Development of a cochlear nerve based auditory prosthesis.
• Studies on the encoding of sensory stimuli in the visual, auditory, and olfactory systems.

• Investigation of strategies for the extrinsic control of skeletal motions.
• Studies of plasticity of the neuronal connectivities in the visual cortex, and the effects of electrical stimulation on these connectivities.

• Continued development and evaluation of the Utah Electrode Array (UEA). This is a silicon based array of 100 penetrating microelectrodes, designed to be implanted in the cerebral cortex. It provides a means to stimulate and/or record from large number of neurons simultaneously.

• Continued development and evaluation of the Utah Slant Array (USA). This is a variant of the UEA and contains 100 penetrating microelectrodes of various lengths (typically from 0.5 mm to 1.5 mm in length). The USA is designed to be implanted in the peripheral nervous system and to provide a means for simultaneous stimulation and recording from large number of nerve fibers.