Stimulation Strategies for Improving the Resolution of Retinal Prostheses

Electrical stimulation using implantable devices with arrays of stimulating electrodes is an emerging therapy for neurological diseases. The performance of these devices depends greatly on their ability to activate populations of neurons with high spatiotemporal resolution. To study electrical stimu...

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Bibliographic Details
Published in:Frontiers in neuroscience 2020-03, Vol.14, p.262-262
Main Authors: Tong, Wei, Meffin, Hamish, Garrett, David J, Ibbotson, Michael R
Format: Article
Language:English
Subjects:
Arrays
Blindness
Clinical trials
Cornea
electrical stimulation
Electrical stimuli
Electrodes
Experiments
Gene therapy
Light
Macular degeneration
Neural networks
Neurological diseases
Neurons
Neuroscience
Photoreceptors
Population studies
Prostheses
Prosthetics
Retina
retinal ganglion cell
retinal prostheses
Signal processing
stimulation resolution
Transplants & implants
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Description
Summary:Electrical stimulation using implantable devices with arrays of stimulating electrodes is an emerging therapy for neurological diseases. The performance of these devices depends greatly on their ability to activate populations of neurons with high spatiotemporal resolution. To study electrical stimulation of populations of neurons, retina serves as a useful model because the neural network is arranged in a planar array that is easy to access. Moreover, retinal prostheses are under development to restore vision by replacing the function of damaged light sensitive photoreceptors, which makes retinal research directly relevant for curing blindness. Here we provide a progress review on stimulation strategies developed in recent years to improve the resolution of electrical stimulation in retinal prostheses. We focus on studies performed with explanted retinas, in which electrophysiological techniques are the most advanced. We summarize achievements in improving the spatial and temporal resolution of electrical stimulation of the retina and methods to selectively stimulate neurons with different visual functions. Future directions for retinal prostheses development are also discussed, which could provide insights for other types of neuromodulatory devices in which high-resolution electrical stimulation is required.
ISSN:1662-4548
1662-453X
1662-453X
DOI:10.3389/fnins.2020.00262