Biological and bionic hands: natural neural coding and artificial perception
Open accessAbstract
The first decade and a half of the twenty-first century brought about two major innovations in neuroprosthetics: the development of anthropomorphic robotic limbs that replicate much of the function of a native human arm and the refinement of algorithms that decode intended movements from brain activity. However, skilled manipulation of objects requires somatosensory feedback, for which vision is a poor substitute. For upper-limb neuroprostheses to be clinically viable, they must therefore provide for the restoration of touch and proprioception. In this review, I discuss efforts to elicit meaningful tactile sensations through stimulation of neurons in somatosensory cortex. I focus on biomimetic approaches to sensory restoration, which leverage our current understanding about how information about grasped objects is encoded in the brain of intact individuals. I argue that not only can sensory neuroscience inform the development of sensory neuroprostheses, but also that the converse is true: stimulating the brain offers an exceptional opportunity to causally interrogate neural circuits and test hypotheses about natural neural coding.
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Many challenges are ahead before selective activation of all receptors.
“Bensmaia (2015) and Tyler (2015) concluded that many challenges are ahead before selective activation of all receptors.”
From Selectivity and Longevity of Peripheral-Nerve and Machine Interfaces: A Review. (2017) · cites this paper as Bensmaia (2015)
The Practical considerations section says that selectively activating neurons with different feature preferences would require greater electrode density and coverage. The future of somatosensory neuroprostheses section also describes current electrical stimulation as unselective. These passages support the claim that selective stimulation faces challenges, but they concern neurons, not selective activation of all receptors. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Self-citationSelectivity and Longevity of Peripheral-Nerve and Machine Interfaces: A Review.
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“Bensmaia (2015) and Tyler (2015) concluded that many challenges are ahead before selective activation of all receptors.”
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- Authors
- Bensmaia, S. J.
- Affiliations
- Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, University of Chicago, Chicago, IL 60637, USA
- Venue
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences
- Publisher
- The Royal Society
- Published
- 2015-09-19
- Volume
- 370
- Issue
- 1677
- Pages
- 20140209
- ISSN
- 0962-8436 (ISSN-L)
- 1471-2970
- PMC
- PMC4528821
- OpenAlex
- W1957218552
- Cited by
- 67
- References
- 65
- Citations by year
- 2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 3 · 2023: 3 · 2022: 3 · 2021: 9 · 2020: 9 · 2019: 6 · 2018: 7 · 2017: 9 · 2016: 7 · 2015: 1
- FWCI
- 0.96
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- hybrid
- doi.org
- Locations
- Philosophical Transactions of the Royal Society B Biological Sciences (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- Funders
- Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (N66001-10-C-4056, Contract N66001-10-C-4056)
- Advanced Research Projects Agency
- Topics
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cellular and Molecular Neuroscience › Neuroscience and Neural Engineering
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › Tactile and Sensory Interactions
- Life Sciences › Neuroscience › Cognitive Neuroscience › EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces
- Keywords
- neuroprosthetics, upper limb prosthesis, somatosensory feedback, tactile perception, proprioception, neural coding, object grasping, brain-computer interface, neural circuits
- MeSH terms
- Artificial Limbs, Bionics, Hand, Humans, Neuronal Plasticity, Perception, Proprioception, Prosthesis Design, Quadriplegia, Somatosensory Cortex, Touch, Biomimetic Materials, Feedback, Sensory
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