TY - JOUR
T1 - Histological evaluation of a chronically-implanted electrocorticographic electrode grid in a non-human primate
AU - Degenhart, Alan D.
AU - Eles, James
AU - Dum, Richard
AU - Mischel, Jessica L.
AU - Smalianchuk, Ivan
AU - Endler, Bridget
AU - Ashmore, Robin C.
AU - Tyler-Kabara, Elizabeth C.
AU - Hatsopoulos, Nicholas G.
AU - Wang, Wei
AU - Batista, Aaron P.
AU - Cui, X. Tracy
N1 - Funding Information:
The work was supported by NIH Grants R01NS062019, 3R01NS050256-05S1, R01 NS065065, R01 RHD071686A, KL2TR000146, and P30 NS076405. The work was also supported by the National Science Foundation, the Burroughs Wellcome Fund, the UPMC Rehabilitation Institute, and the Craig H Neilsen Foundation.
Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 IOP Publishing Ltd.
PY - 2016/6/28
Y1 - 2016/6/28
N2 - Objective. Electrocorticography (ECoG), used as a neural recording modality for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), potentially allows for field potentials to be recorded from the surface of the cerebral cortex for long durations without suffering the host-tissue reaction to the extent that it is common with intracortical microelectrodes. Though the stability of signals obtained from chronically implanted ECoG electrodes has begun receiving attention, to date little work has characterized the effects of long-term implantation of ECoG electrodes on underlying cortical tissue. Approach. We implanted and recorded from a high-density ECoG electrode grid subdurally over cortical motor areas of a Rhesus macaque for 666 d. Main results. Histological analysis revealed minimal damage to the cortex underneath the implant, though the grid itself was encapsulated in collagenous tissue. We observed macrophages and foreign body giant cells at the tissue-array interface, indicative of a stereotypical foreign body response. Despite this encapsulation, cortical modulation during reaching movements was observed more than 18 months post-implantation. Significance. These results suggest that ECoG may provide a means by which stable chronic cortical recordings can be obtained with comparatively little tissue damage, facilitating the development of clinically viable BMI systems.
AB - Objective. Electrocorticography (ECoG), used as a neural recording modality for brain-machine interfaces (BMIs), potentially allows for field potentials to be recorded from the surface of the cerebral cortex for long durations without suffering the host-tissue reaction to the extent that it is common with intracortical microelectrodes. Though the stability of signals obtained from chronically implanted ECoG electrodes has begun receiving attention, to date little work has characterized the effects of long-term implantation of ECoG electrodes on underlying cortical tissue. Approach. We implanted and recorded from a high-density ECoG electrode grid subdurally over cortical motor areas of a Rhesus macaque for 666 d. Main results. Histological analysis revealed minimal damage to the cortex underneath the implant, though the grid itself was encapsulated in collagenous tissue. We observed macrophages and foreign body giant cells at the tissue-array interface, indicative of a stereotypical foreign body response. Despite this encapsulation, cortical modulation during reaching movements was observed more than 18 months post-implantation. Significance. These results suggest that ECoG may provide a means by which stable chronic cortical recordings can be obtained with comparatively little tissue damage, facilitating the development of clinically viable BMI systems.
KW - brain machine interface
KW - electrocorticography
KW - foreign body response
UR - http://www.scopus.com/inward/record.url?scp=84979608679&partnerID=8YFLogxK
U2 - 10.1088/1741-2560/13/4/046019
DO - 10.1088/1741-2560/13/4/046019
M3 - Article
C2 - 27351722
AN - SCOPUS:84979608679
SN - 1741-2560
VL - 13
JO - Journal of Neural Engineering
JF - Journal of Neural Engineering
IS - 4
M1 - 046019
ER -