Micro-electroncorticographic recordings from human cortex for mapping cortical information processing and decoding dexterous hand movements

Micro-electroncorticographic recordings from human cortex for mapping cortical information processing and decoding dexterous hand movements Micro-electrocorticographic recordings from human cortex for mapping cortical information processing and decoding dexterous hand movements Electrocorticography (ECoG) grids has been used to study and diagnose neural pathophysiology for over 50 years, and have been instrumental in saving lives of patients with medically refractory epilepsy. However, since the original conception and design of ECoG electrodes our understanding of neurophysiology and our technological capabilities have greatly increased. Novel micro-electrocorticography (micro-ECoG) grids have the potential to record highly localized neural activity, and advanced data acquisition systems can recorded this neural activity at high frequencies. The neural activity recorded on micro-ECoG electrodes likely represents coordinated neural activity within individual cortical columns of approximately several hundred micrometers in diameter 1,2. The tighter inter-electrode spacing of micro-ECoG grids provides the ability to sample the closely spaced areas of motor cortex that control different movements 3-11. Micro-ECoG grids have shown promise for decoding speech 12,13, arm movement 14 and basic hand movements 5. These capabilities of micro-ECoG grid have the potential to enable higher resolution cortical mapping, new insights to pathophysiology of seizure disorders, and neural prosthetic applications.