Project description Challenging current Thinking Show the project objective Hide the project objective Brain Machine Interfaces (BMIs) are devices mediating communication between a brain and the external world, and hold the potential for a) restoring motor or sensory functions to people who lost them due to illness or injury, and b) understanding neural information processing through controlled interactions between neurons and external devices. However, the success of BMIs is hampered by the problem that neural responses to external correlates are highly variable because they depend on the internal state of the neural network. We propose to remove this obstacle by developing a radically new generation of "bidirectional BMIs" (which decode information from the recorded neural activity and provide information to the brain by stimulation) employing neural computational strategies and neuromorphic VLSI devices that i) understand how network states influence neural responses to stimuli; ii) use this know-how to discount variability induced by state changes in real time and thus operate with increased bandwidth and performance. We gather a highly interdisciplinary team composed of both mathematical and experimental neuroscientists and of VLSI engineers. We will study the interplay between ongoing network states and stimulus-evoked responses in various nervous systems of different complexity. We will develop advanced algorithms and models of network dynamics to determine the network state variables best predicting and discounting neural variability, and to construct optimal state-dependent rules to decode neural activity. We will implement these algorithms in a new "state-dependent bidirectional BMI" prototype using low-power neuromorphic VLSI circuits that extract in real time network state information and use it to produce outputs optimally suited for both decoding of recorded signals and delivering electrical stimulation to a neural tissue in a given state. This BMI will be tested in a benchmark experiment in rats to guide an external device with closed loop control. Fields of science natural sciencesbiological sciencesneurobiologynatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesdata sciencedata processingnatural sciencescomputer and information sciencesartificial intelligencecomputational intelligence Programme(s) FP7-ICT - Specific Programme "Cooperation": Information and communication technologies Topic(s) ICT-2011.9.1 - Challenging current Thinking Call for proposal FP7-ICT-2011-C See other projects for this call Funding Scheme CP - Collaborative project (generic) Coordinator FONDAZIONE ISTITUTO ITALIANO DI TECNOLOGIA Address Via morego 30 16163 Genova Italy See on map Region Nord-Ovest Liguria Genova Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Sara Maistrelli (Ms.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window EU contribution No data Participants (4) Sort alphabetically Sort by EU Contribution Expand all Collapse all University of Zurich Switzerland EU contribution € 440 574,00 Address Ramistrasse 71 8006 Zurich See on map Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Giacomo Indiveri (Prof.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data MAX-PLANCK-GESELLSCHAFT ZUR FORDERUNG DER WISSENSCHAFTEN EV Germany EU contribution € 505 042,00 Address Hofgartenstrasse 8 80539 Munchen See on map Region Bayern Oberbayern München, Kreisfreie Stadt Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Patrice Wegener (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data CENTRE NATIONAL DE LA RECHERCHE SCIENTIFIQUE CNRS Participation ended France EU contribution € 0,00 Address Rue michel ange 3 75794 Paris See on map Region Ile-de-France Ile-de-France Paris Activity type Research Organisations Administrative Contact Franck CHARRON (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data SCUOLA INTERNAZIONALE SUPERIORE DI STUDI AVANZATI DI TRIESTE Italy EU contribution € 424 040,00 Address Via bonomea 265 34136 Trieste See on map Region Nord-Est Friuli-Venezia Giulia Trieste Activity type Higher or Secondary Education Establishments Administrative Contact Luca Bardi (Mr.) Links Contact the organisation Opens in new window Website Opens in new window Other funding No data