The Regulatory Pathway for High-Risk Neuro-Electric Devices: From Preclinical to Post-Market The regulatory pathway for a Class III neuro-electric device, such as an implantable BCI, is a rigorous, evidence-driven process overseen by the U.S. Food and Drug Administration. The journey typically begins with extensive preclinical testing, which must establish a reasonable assurance of safety. This […]

The Signal Acquisition Frontier: ECoG, Utah Arrays, and Neuropixels in BCI The fidelity of a BCI is fundamentally constrained by its signal acquisition method. Electrocorticography, which places electrode grids on the surface of the dura mater, provides a middle-ground resolution, capturing local field potentials and high-frequency broadband activity from small populations of neurons. ECoG offers […]

Decoding Neural Intent: From Cortical Firing Patterns to BCI Commands The fundamental challenge in motor Brain-Computer Interfaces is accurately decoding movement intention from neural signals. Invasive BCIs often rely on recordings from microelectrode arrays implanted in the primary motor cortex, which capture the firing rates of populations of neurons. Each neuron exhibits a tuning property, […]

Astrocytic TNF-α and the Homeostatic Control of Synaptic Scaling Homeostatic plasticity operates on a slower timescale than Hebbian plasticity to stabilize neuronal firing rates across a network. Synaptic scaling is a key homeostatic mechanism that globally adjusts synaptic strength in a multiplicative manner, and glial-derived Tumor Necrosis Factor-alpha is a critical mediator of this process. […]

The BCM Theory and the Molecular Implementation of Metaplasticity The Bienenstock-Cooper-Munro theory provides a theoretical framework for understanding how a synapse’s history of activity governs its future plasticity, a concept known as metaplasticity. It posits a sliding threshold, θM, which determines whether synaptic activity will induce long-term potentiation or long-term depression. This dynamic threshold is […]

The NMDA Receptor as a Coincidence Detector: A Deep Dive into Hebbian Plasticity The foundational model for activity-dependent synaptic plasticity is Hebb’s postulate, which finds its primary molecular mechanism in the N-methyl-D-aspartate (NMDA) receptor. This ligand-gated ion channel is unique in its requirement for dual activation: binding of the neurotransmitter glutamate and the simultaneous relief […]