journal article·2024-08-01Open access

NeuroRoots, a bio-inspired, seamless brain machine interface for long-term recording in delicate brain regions

Marc D. Ferro, Christopher M. Proctor, Alexander Gonzalez, Sriram Jayabal, Eric Zhao, Maxwell Gagnon, Andrea Slézia, Jolien Pas, Gerwin Dijk, Mary J. Donahue, Adam Williamson, Jennifer Raymond, George G. Malliaras, Lisa Giocomo, Nicholas A. Melosh

AIP Advances· Volume 14· Issue 8

Abstract

Scalable electronic brain implants with long-term stability and low biological perturbation are crucial technologies for high-quality brain–machine interfaces that can seamlessly access delicate and hard-to-reach regions of the brain. Here, we created “NeuroRoots,” a biomimetic multi-channel implant with similar dimensions (7 μm wide and 1.5 μm thick), mechanical compliance, and spatial distribution as axons in the brain. Unlike planar shank implants, these devices consist of a number of individual electrode “roots,” each tendril independent from the other. A simple microscale delivery approach based on commercially available apparatus minimally perturbs existing neural architectures during surgery. NeuroRoots enables high density single unit recording from the cerebellum in vitro and in vivo. NeuroRoots also reliably recorded action potentials in various brain regions for at least 7 weeks during behavioral experiments in freely-moving rats, without adjustment of electrode position. This minimally invasive axon-like implant design is an important step toward improving the integration and stability of brain–machine interfacing.
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Research context

OpenAlex topics: Neuroscience and Neural Engineering · EEG and Brain-Computer Interfaces · Neural dynamics and brain function

SciVX discovery tags are terminology-based. OpenAlex topics are source-provided classifications.

Affiliations

Department of Materials Science and Engineering, Stanford University 1 , Stanford, California 94305, USA

Electrical Engineering Division, Department of Engineering, University of Cambridge 2 , Cambridge CB3 0FA, United Kingdom

Department of Neurobiology, Stanford University School of Medicine 3 , Stanford, California 94304, USA

4 Multimodal Neurotechnology Group, Institute of Cognitive Neuroscience and Psychology, HUN-REN Research Centre for Natural Sciences, Hungarian Research Network, 1117 Budapest, Magyar tudósok körútja 2., Hungary

Department of Bioelectronics, Ecole Nationale Supérieure des Mines, CMP-EMSE 5 , 13541 Gardanne, France

6 Laboratory of Organic Electronics, Department of Science and Technology, Linköping University, Norrköping, 60221, Sweden

7 International Clinical Research Center, ICRC, St. Anne’s University Hospital and Faculty of Medicine, Masaryk University, Brno, Czech Republic

8 Center for Social and Affective Neuroscience, Department of Biomedical and Clinical Sciences, Linköping University, Linköping, Sweden

Funding

National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke · National Science Foundation · Horizon 2020 Framework Program · James S. McDonnell Foundation · Simons Foundation · National Institutes of Health · European Research Council · Ministry of Human Capacities, Hungary

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