Amputees often experience paresthesia and difficulties using prosthetic limbs because of impaired sensorimotor processing. Artificial peripheral nerve stimulation has shown promise in restoring brain–body communication for sensory processing. In a recent Nature Communications publication, Valle et al. report a biomimetic neurostimulation technique that improved mobility in people with lower-limb amputation who wear a neuroprosthetic leg, as part of a clinical trial. They developed an in silico model to mimic natural touch sensations in the foot, which estimated stimulation patterns for mechanoreceptors and corresponding leg nerves during movement. In an animal model, peripheral stimulation using these biomimetic signals resulted in neural activity in the dorsal spinal cord that was closer to natural touch signals than traditional stimulation. When they received biomimetic feedback, amputees wearing neuroprosthetic legs were able to walk faster and with more confidence, with reduced mental strain in dual-task scenarios. This neurorobotic intervention offers insight into the neural dynamics of natural touch perception and shows promise in enhancing the quality of life of people with impairments.

Original reference: Nat. Commun. 15, 1151 (2024)

由于感觉运动处理受损，截肢者经常会出现感觉异常和使用假肢的困难。人工周围神经刺激在恢复大脑与身体的感觉处理通讯方面显示出了希望。在最近的《自然通讯》出版物中，Valle 等人。报告了一种仿生神经刺激技术，作为临床试验的一部分，该技术可以改善佩戴神经假肢的下肢截肢患者的活动能力。他们开发了一种模拟足部自然触觉的计算机模型，该模型可以估计运动过程中机械感受器和相应腿部神经的刺激模式。在动物模型中，使用这些仿生信号进行外周刺激会导致背侧脊髓的神经活动比传统刺激更接近自然触摸信号。当他们收到仿生反馈时，佩戴神经假肢的截肢者能够走得更快、更有信心，同时在双重任务场景中减少精神紧张。这种神经机器人干预提供了对自然触觉感知的神经动力学的深入了解，并有望提高残障人士的生活质量。

原文参考： Nat.交流。15 , 1151 (2024)