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Sleep can improve neural prosthetic task performance after learning

In recent years, brain machine interfaces (BMIs) have become a popular tool to further
understand the roles and mechanisms of certain brain regions. BMIs are essentially computers
that listen to brain activity and control external devices based off of what the brain activity is
saying. For example, known as neural prosthetic control, amputee patients can control a
prosthetic arm with brain activity to facilitate their day to day lives. Individuals with Lou
Gehrigs disease could use BMIs to help them type on a computer to communicate with their
friends and family. For amputee patients, spinal cord injury patientsies, and patients with neural
degenerative diseases, BMIs can play a fundamental role in helping people them live normal
lives.
In a recent study using BMI techniques to study the role of sleep in neural prosthetic
control, researchers have shown that task performance can be greatly improved with sleep. In
particular, there is a certain phase of sleep, called the slow wave sleep, which has been proven
shown in past studies to enhance learning and motor performance.
Slow wave sleep can be thought of as slow ripples of water reaching the coastline on a
beach. These ripples usually have high amplitude but occur at a low frequency. Slow wave sleep
usually occurs at the earlier stages of sleep before the dreaming phase. It is during this period
that researchers sought to prove show how brain cells change their pattern of activity relative to a
new learning environment.
Published in the journal Nature Neuroscience, the research at (so and so university or
institute) led by Dr. blah blah conducted in rats provided insight on how neurons (brain cells) are
modulated after learning a new task. In particular, researchers were studying the primary motor
cortex, the region of the brain that controls limb movement. Neurons in the brain actively

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conduct electricity day to day. In this study, researchers recorded this electrical activity in the
primary motor cortex of rats using electrode probes. With this activity the rats were trained to
control an actuator device that provided a water reward to the rats. The device used a common
computer algorithm to translate the neural brain activity to controlling the actuator. Two neurons
were recorded to control the neural device, while the sleep wave activity was recorded
simultaneously. Brain activity recorded had no correlation to the rats behavior, mimicking a
scenario where a patient paralyzed from the neck down cannot move but can still think about
moving. The rats were then allowed to sleep for a period of time, while recording continued to
take place. They were then awoken for a second session of controlling the device. Comparisons
of task performance and brain activity during and after sleep showed that the rats performed
better during the second session of controlling the device. In addition, brain activity appeared to
increase over time during learning and remained at the increased patterned activity after sleep. To
prove that the two neurons recorded significantly changed during sleep; researchers used a
mathematical tool called principal component analysis. This tool basically finds the neuron with
the most variation relative to its neighboring population of neurons. Thus, this technique shows
that neurons changed after learning during sleep. With a correlation between increase task
performance and change in neuron modulation, researchers conclude that this provides some
evidence that sleep plays an important role in brain consolidation to learning a new task.
In proving that sleep can help with learning to control an external device, researchers
suggest that this consolidation may have a broader link to sleep and memory. Multiple studies
have suggested that hippocampus neurons (memory neurons) undergo a process of consolidation,
and stabilize the recently learned task. Experts believe this occurs by neurons activating in a
sequential pattern during sleep that mimics the neuron activity that occurred during learning of

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the new task. This reactivation of the neurons during sleep solidifies and enhances the learning
pattern, experts believe. Thus, sleep may play an important role for future BMI rehabilitation
techniques for patients.
However, as the study occurred in rats, translational human studies will not immediately
occur. The BMI technique used in rats is invasive and requires extensive brain surgery to record
the neural activity. Other labs are experimenting with invasively implanting electrode probes into
human brains, but issues still remain in the functional longevity of the electrodes. Ideally probes
should last longer than 5 years to be economically feasible to provide as a treatment technique.
Further studies in electrode quality and stability are needed in humans before more studies can
be conducted in humans. Overall, BMIs could be a key tool in allowing researchers to better
understand the underlying mechanisms of certain brain regions that could potentially benefit
patients in the future.
Experts believe these findings will provide important goals for the field of BMI to
understand how the brain stabilizes and controls these increasingly complex devices over long
periods of time. In addition, this study may provide clues on how the brain adapts to new
situations, which could ultimately be used to improve computer algorithms to control these
devices. As the field moves into controlling finer and more natural prosthetic limbs, it may be
necessary to dig deeper in the overall process of neurons undergoing long-term neural plasticity.
It is the goal of the BMI field to recreate and mimic the natural missing limb as much as
possible. Especially in upper limb amputations, loss of a hand can cause a dramatic reduction in
daily productivity and can become cumbersome overtime. Thus, this study drives the field
further in understanding the capabilities and limitations of the brain in control neural prosthetic
devices.

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References

Carmena, Jose M., Mikhail A. Lebedev, Roy E. Crist, Joseph E. ODoherty, David M.
Santucci, Dragan F. Dimitrov, Parag G. Patil, Craig S. Henriquez, and Miguel A. L.
Nicolelis. Learning to Control a BrainMachine Interface for Reaching and Grasping
by Primates. PLOS Biol1, no. 2 (October 13, 2003): e42.
doi:10.1371/journal.pbio.0000042.
Gulati, Tanuj, Dhakshin S. Ramanathan, Chelsea C. Wong, and Karunesh Ganguly.
Reactivation of Emergent Task-Related Ensembles during Slow-Wave Sleep after
Neuroprosthetic Learning. Nature Neuroscience 17, no. 8 (August 2014): 110713.
doi:10.1038/nn.3759.
Huber, Reto, M. Felice Ghilardi, Marcello Massimini, and Giulio Tononi. Local Sleep
and Learning. Nature 430, no. 6995 (July 1, 2004): 7881. doi:10.1038/nature02663.

This is an excellent draft. I think youre totally on the right track!