Cell-type Selective Stimulation of Neurons Based on Single Neuron Models

摘要

Selectively stimulating neuron types within the brain can enable new treatment possibilities for neurological disorders and feedback in brain-machine interfaces. Prior computational work has shown that by choosing a sinusoidal signal with appropriate amplitude and frequency, one can obtain one-directional stimulation, i.e., one can stimulate a mammalian inhibitory neuron without stimulating an excitatory neuron. However, bidirectional selectivity is not achievable using just sinusoidal inputs. In this work, which is also computational, we design novel current waveforms to achieve this bidirectional selectivity. To do so, we explicitly exploit the non-linearity of neuronal membrane potential in response to stimulating currents. These current waveforms are able to stimulate either of the two neuron-types without stimulating the other. Further, we are also able to design a waveform which stimulates both neurons. Moreover, we can ensure a relatively high firing rate (~100 Hz) when a neuron-type is targeted for stimulation.