New research marks an important step toward new technology that, if implemented successfully, would increase the dexterity and clinical viability of robotic prosthetic limbs - touch-sensitive prosthetics that could convey real-time sensory information to amputees via a direct interface with the brain. 

The researchers are working specifically on the sensory aspects of these limbs. In a series of experiments with monkeys, whose sensory systems closely resemble those of humans, they indentified patterns of neural activity that occur during natural object manipulation and then successfully induced these patterns through artificial means.


Next they focused on the sensation of pressure. In this case, they developed an algorithm to generate the appropriate amount of electrical current to elicit a sensation of pressure. Again, the animals' response was the same whether the stimuli were felt through their fingers or through artificial means.









Gregg A. Tabot, John F. Dammann, Joshua A. Berg, Francesco V. Tenore, Jessica L. Boback, R. Jacob Vogelstein, and Sliman J. Bensmaia , 'Restoring the sense of touch with a prosthetic hand through a brain interface', PNAS October 14, 2013, doi:10.1073/pnas.1221113110

Citation: Y. C. Pei, S. S. Hsiao, and S. J. Bensmaia, 'The tactile integration of local motion cues is analogous to its visual counterpart', PNAS 2008 105 (23) 8130-8135; published ahead of print June 4, 2008, doi:10.1073/pnas.0800028105