Wake Forest Subcontract - REMIND Extension

The proposed research is designed to follow-on and extrapolate the achievements of the REMIND program to circumstances that will facilitate application of the memory prosthesis device developed for nonhuman primates (NHPs), to human patients undergoing surgery for brain disease conditions such as epilepsy in order to restore retention of item specific information necessary for cognitive function. This is the first application of a memory prosthesis device to humans and will be initiated in this follow-on period by integrating the ability to mimic memory-specific neuron firing patterns with multichannel electrical stimulation patterns delivered to the same foci in the hippocampus of human patients. These features will be enhanced by the corresponding development of optogenetic stimulation in the same patterns in NHPs to precisely tune human stimulation for maximal effects in patients performing cognitive tasks. Another objective that will be initiated and extended in this program will be the development of a wireless transmitter/receiver device for unrestricted application of the prosthesis to humans who will then be unrestrained by surgical or other medical contexts. This will allow 1) assessment of mental enhancement independent of standardized testing paradigms, and 2) allow application of the same prosthetic device to other types of mental challenges such as learning new methods of operating machinery and instruments for specific applications.