---------------------------------------------------------------------------
APPENDIX IMP1 - PROMOTION OF HUMAN IMPLANTATION BY NIH

THIS TEXT WAS COPIED FROM THE ORIGINAL NIH/CNCT WEB SITE AT THIS
ADDRESS:

http://www.engin.umich.edu/center/cnct/orgind.html

Center for Neural Communication Technology Organization

The NIH NCRR requires that its Centers have several basic components:
internal research projects, collaborative research projects, and
service to external investigators in the form of distribution and
training.  The organization of the Center for Neural Communication
Technology (CNCT) will be described here with links to more details
on individual projects.
 
The underlying goal for all of the work conducted by the CNCT is to
make multichannel recording and stimulation devices available to
researchers which will enable them to more efficiently communicate
with the brain.  Micromachined electrodes offer the potential to
extend small ensemble studies to tissue volume studies consisting of
dozens if not hundreds of cells.

Internal Research Projects

There are three internal research projects under the Center which are
designed to enhance the capability of the base technology:

Project 1, Extensions of Micromachined Microelectrode Technology:

    Extend the basic structure of the device to include fluid
    carrying channels for delivery of fluids to tissue volume,
    and/or to lesion at recording/stimulation site locations.

Project 2, Biological Neural Networks:

    Develop techniques for data acquisition from and analysis of
    neural circuits in the volume surrounding arrays of recording
    devices.  The direction which has been proposed for this project
    over the next grant period will be to study the relationships
    between the physical characteristics of the devices and the
    architecture of the neural tissue to rationalize the process of
    design and experimentally explore and model the deterioration of
    chronic implants over time to improve their behavior.  A recent
    poster presentation on data collected from the cochlear nucleus
    can be seen [on the original site.]

                             -123-