A wearable platform for closed-loop stimulation and recording of single-neuron and local field potential activity in freely moving humans

Abstract

Advances in technologies that can record and stimulate deep brain activity in humans have led to impactful discoveries within the field of neuroscience and contributed to the development of novel therapies for neurological and psychiatric disorders. Further progress, however, has been hindered by device limitations in that recording of single-neuron activity during freely moving behaviors in humans has not been possible. Additionally, implantable neurostimulation devices, currently approved for human use, have limited stimulation programmability and restricted full-duplex bidirectional capability. In this study, we developed a wearable bidirectional closed-loop neuromodulation system (Neuro-stack) and used it to record single-neuron and local field potential activity during stationary and ambulatory behavior in humans. Together with a highly flexible and customizable stimulation capability, the Neuro-stack provides an opportunity to investigate the neurophysiological basis of disease, develop improved responsive neuromodulation therapies, explore brain function during naturalistic behaviors in humans and, consequently, bridge decades of neuroscientific findings across species.