Electrical Circuit Model of the Interface between an Electrode and the Electrolytic Medium of the Cortex

摘要

Former research of the visual processes that occur at the cortex of mammals concentrated on the task of the design and implantation of a multielectrode array, the AFIT brain chip. Despite the importance of refining these activities, questions were generated from data collected during the first implant that need to be resolved before the next implant into a higher-level primate is attempted. The specific nature of the interface between the electrodes and the electrolytic medium at the cortex is critical to understanding and interpreting data collected during an implantation. The primary thrust of this research is to propose a qualitative model of the electrode/electrolyte interface and then to calculate the quantitative parameters of that model by immersing brain chips into a simulated electrolyte and recording empirical data. The secondary focus of this research is to investigate the limiting effect of the electrode/electrolyte interface upon the maximal scan rate or the multielectrode array. (Theses).