Techniques and devices to restore cognition.

Full Abstract

Executive planning, the ability to direct and sustain attention, language and several types of memory may be compromised by conditions such as stroke, traumatic brain injury, cancer, autism, cerebral palsy and Alzheimer's disease. No medical devices are currently available to help restore these cognitive functions. Recent findings about the neurophysiology of these conditions in humans coupled with progress in engineering devices to treat refractory neurological conditions imply that the time has arrived to consider the design and evaluation of a new class of devices. Like their neuromotor counterparts, neurocognitive prostheses might sense or modulate neural function in a non-invasive manner or by means of implanted electrodes. In order to paint a vision for future device development, it is essential to first review what can be achieved using behavioral and external modulatory techniques. While non-invasive approaches might strengthen a patient's remaining intact cognitive abilities, neurocognitive prosthetics comprised of direct brain-computer interfaces could in theory physically reconstitute and augment the substrate of cognition itself.

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Author information

Author/s: Serruya, Mijail Demian (MD); Kahana, Michael J (MJ);

Affiliation: Department of Neurology, Hospital of the University of Pennsylvania, 3400 Spruce Street, Gates 3 HUP, Philadelphia, PA 19104-4283, United States. Mijail.Serruya(-atsign-)uphs.upenn.edu

Journal and publication information

Publication Type: Journal Article; Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't; Review

Journal: Behavioural brain research (Behav Brain Res), published in Netherlands. (Language: eng)

Reference: 2008-Oct; vol 192 (issue 2) : pp 149-65

Dates: Created 2008/07/11; Completed 2008/09/30;

PMID: 18539345, status: MEDLINE (last retrieval date: 11/6/2008)

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MeSH headings (categories)

This article was linked to the MESH Headings shown below.

Attention - physiology
Cognition - physiology
Cognition Disorders - physiopathology; psychology; therapy
Electric Stimulation - instrumentation; methods
Humans

Humans
Memory - physiology
Psychological Techniques - instrumentation
Recovery of Function - physiology
Transcranial Magnetic Stimulation - instrumentation; methods

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