Recovery of Brain Function by Neuroprostheses: A Challenge for Neuroscience and Technology

In a series of studies, we demonstrated a brain-computer interface (BCI) system in which a disabled cerebellar network in rat’s brain was replaced by a biomimetic synthetic model that reliably recovered the motor learning function of the cerebellar network [34, 21]. While we proved feasibility by managing some neuroscientific and methodological challenges, this project was critically suggestive of the grave challenges expected on the way to reach a level of a clinically relevant neuroprosthesis.