This laboratory sets out to identify research paths that can effectively lead to the development of an artificial system capable of interacting with the ambient under cerebral control. Its distinctive characteristic lies in the fact that it integrates different approaches, making it particularly suitable for a research environment such as that of the Italian Institute of Technology (IIT). A peculiar feature of the proposed approach is the acquisition of in vivo data. This is because, though the project is considered of as a source of fundamental data for basic research, it is and remains an applicative project incorporating major technological challenges. As all the stages of the research project carried ou in the BMI lab are applicable to the man, this predetermines the choices of the materials and procedures required for its realisation. Although the majority of the research is performed within the Department of Robotics, Brain and Cognitive Science, the project benefits also from the contribution and collaboration of various other branches of the IIT, such as Neuroscience and Nanotechnology. Specifically, as regards those project skills that cannot be found within the IIT, use has been made of a network of collaborators including some leading Italian research centres. Among them, the Politecnico of Milan Electronics (POLIMI-ele) and Physics (POLIMI-phys) Departments, the Neurophysiology Sections of the Universities of Ferrara (UNIFE) and Modena (UNIMO), the Neurosurgery Department of the Udine Hospital “S.M. della Misericordia” (NSG), the SISSA in Trieste, and the Northwestern University of Chicago (NW).

The main effort in this area is devoted to the study of chronically implantable Brain Machine Communication devices in humans. In particular the main focus of this long term goal is to implement bidirectional and “ad-hoc” interfaces. By this we mean interfaces that can be adapted to the residual functional abilities and the morphology of individual patients and that can support bidirectional flow of information between the nervous system and the artificial device.

Initial attempts to realise brain-machine interfaces by means of intracortical microelectrodes focused on recording from the primary motor cortex or, better put, from the precentral convexity. In fact, the primary motor cortex of primates lies mainly inside the central sulcus (anterior bank) and is therefore not easy to access. Apart from very few teams, such as that lead by Richard A. Andersen at CALTECH, the main research teams involved in BMI have always looked in the cortex for the functional correlate to movement. On the contrary, we believe that movements are much less represented in the cortex and that, rather, the premotor neurons (as well as the motor ones) activate in a specific way in relation to a determined action. The difference between action and movement consists in the presence of a specific objective (goal). We shall explain this concept more fully by using an example. Consider the action of recovering a small piece of food inside a groove. If the groove is too narrow, the only way to achieve that goal is to introduce the index finger into the groove and bend to try and obtain the food. In this case, the goal is clear (recover the food by bending the index finger) but it is very different when the index finger is bend in order to scratch one's skin, even though the same movement is involved. Recent neurophysiology tells us that the neurons in the premotor cortex that are activated during the first action (recovering food) are different from those activated during the second (scratching) despite the fact that more or less the same muscles are used. Thus, in its neurophysiological sense, the term “action” defines a movement made in order to achieve a goal. The goal, therefore, is the fundamental property of the action. There are actions aiming to reach and manipulate objects, actions aimed towards oneself, communicative actions.

The BMI Lab at IIT is working on two main streams:
The first one is more technology-related and aims at optimize the recording and the analysis of the brain signals through activities in the following areas:

• Carbon nanotubes and conductive polymers composites for high performance, moldable electrodes for in-vivo neural recording
• Microelectronics for signal conditioning and processing of bidirectional brain signals
• Optimal and stable extraction of information from brain signals (local fields and action potentials)
• Near infrared spectroscopy (NIRS)

The second stream is more neurophysiology-related, and develops along the following lines of research:

• Mapping of motor/premotor functions in individual brains
  
• Study and implementation of in-vivo techniques for bidirectional communication with the nervous system.
• fMRI studies to study the structural and functional organization of cortical and subcortical motor areas
• Study of the bio-compatibility of implanted devices (in collaboration with NBT)