BME 1008 Lecture Notes - Lecture 3: Polyimide, Dystonia, Computational Neuroscience
16 Sep 2016
School
Department
Course
Professor
Document Summary
Neural engineering is the discipline at the interface between engineering and neuroscience, and it combines computational neuroscience, engineering and electrophysiology to solve problems in the central and peripheral nervous systems. Alessandro volta (1800) first showed the link between electricity and sensation by placing a pair of leads in his ears from a 50 volt battery and realizing that pain is received through such. A thin needle would be inserted next to a nerve to receive impulses that are occurring between neurons. Neurons have a response time of 1 millisecond. For reading neural communication, basic microwire electrode arrays have evolved into planar silicon-based arrays. Now, polyimide polymer arrays (having softer properties than silicon) are used. Spinal cord injuries are the focus of neural engineering research. Spinal cord stimulation is actually one of the hottest fields of study. The idea is to replace opioids in pain suppression. Vagus nerve stimulation is used to treat epilepsy and depression.
