Restoration of grasp following paralysis through brain-controlled stimulation of muscles

Patients with spinal cord injury lack the connections between brain and spinal cord circuits essential for voluntary movement. Clinical systems that achieve muscle contraction through functional electrical stimulation (FES) have proven to be effective in allowing patients with tetraplegia to regain control of hand movement and to achieve a greater measure of independence in activities of daily living (1,2). In typical systems, the patient uses residual proximal limb movements to trigger pre-programmed stimulation that causes the paralyzed muscles to contract, allowing use of one or two basic grasps. Instead, we have developed, in primates, an FES system that is controlled by recordings made from microelectrodes permanently implanted in the brain. We simulated some of the effects of the paralysis caused by C5-C6 spinal cord injury (3) by injecting a local anesthetic to block the median and ulnar nerves at the elbow. Then, using recordings from approximately 100 neurons in the motor cortex, we predicted the intended activity of several of the paralyzed muscles, and used these predictions to control the intensity of stimulation of the same muscles. This process essentially bypassed the spinal cord, restoring to the monkeys voluntary control of their paralyzed muscles. This achievement represents a major advance toward similar restoration of hand function in human patients through brain-controlled FES. We anticipate that in human patients, this neuroprosthesis would allow much more flexible and dexterous use of the hand than is possible with existing FES systems.