Several groups have developed brain-machine-interfaces (BMIs) that allow primates to use cortical\n \n\n \n \n \n \n\n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n \n\nthe kinematics of whole-body navigation and be used to operate a BMI that moves a wheelchair\ncontinuously in space. Here we show that rhesus monkeys can learn to navigate a robotic wheelchair,\nusing their cortical activity as the main control signal. Two monkeys were chronically implanted with\nmultichannel microelectrode arrays that allowed wireless recordings from ensembles of premotor and\nsensorimotor cortical neurons. Initially, while monkeys remained seated in the robotic wheelchair,\n\n\n\n! \n\n\n\n \n \n\n\n\n\n\n \n\" \n#\n\n\n\n \n\n$\n\ncortical activity. Next, monkeys employed the wireless BMI to translate their cortical activity into the\nrobotic wheelchair�s translational and rotational velocities. Over time, monkeys improved their ability\nto navigate the wheelchair toward the location of a grape reward. The navigation was enacted by\npopulations of cortical neurons tuned to whole-body displacement. During practice with the apparatus,\nwe also noticed the presence of a cortical representation of the distance to reward location. These\nresults demonstrate that intracranial BMIs could restore whole-body mobility to severely paralyzed\npatients in the future.
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