A Direct Visual and Motor Neural Interface Demonstration in a Rat

Developments of the past decades have shown it is possible to decode and extract control signals directly from the brain for use in neuromotor prosthetics. Currently, there is a push towards developing closed loop interface systems. Here we describe our early results in a rat model of a sensory/motor neurophysiological feedback control system. Traditional operant conditioning techniques historically train an animal to increase or decrease the occurrence of a behavior in response to a stimulus using various types of reinforcement. Here we demonstrate a rat performing an operant conditioning task with the modification that the rat's behavioral output and stimulus input are accessed via direct electrical connections with the brain. Our preliminary results here show a rat successfully trained to modulate the firing rates of its motor cortex in response to intra-cortical microstimulation of the visual cortex.