Prominent goals in the field include restoration and augmentation of human function via direct interactions between the nervous system and artificial devices.
In 2003 one of the defining talks of the conference, given by Dr. Carol Lucas, the biomedical program director of the National Science Foundation at the time, provided insights into the future of neural engineering and neuroscience initiatives.
Her talk covered over 200 papers spanning an array of topics, including neural informatics, behavioral dynamics, and brain imaging.
[6][7][8] Because it explains nonlocal interactions of bio-systems, this field of knowledge opens up new horizons for applying engineering methods in the repair, replacement, and enhance neural systems.
[7][8] The fundamentals behind neuroengineering involve the relationship of neurons, neural networks, and nervous system functions to quantifiable models to aid the development of devices that could interpret and control signals and produce purposeful responses.
The essential direction of this field development is based on designing conceptual models of theoretical representations of entire bio-systems (or their functional parts) observed in nature.
For instance, because the mother-fetus interactions enable the child's nervous system to evolve with adequate biological sentience and provide first achievements in the cognitive development,[7][8] studying the mother-fetus neurocognitive model paves the way to design noninvasive computer management by the brain[7] and medical devices for noninvasive treatment of injured nervous systems.
Signals can be generated by electrical, chemical, magnetic, optical, and other forms of stimuli that influence the flow of charges, and thus voltage levels across neural membranes.
Understanding of these processes is followed by development of functioning models capable of characterizing these systems under closed loop conditions with specially defined parameters.
[15] Neuromodulation in medicine (known as neurotherapy) aims to treat disease or injury by employing medical device technologies that would enhance or suppress activity of the nervous system with the delivery of pharmaceutical agents, electrical signals, or other forms of energy stimulus to re-establish balance in impaired regions of the brain.
[8] Researchers in this field face the challenge of linking advances in understanding neural signals to advancements in technologies delivering and analyzing these signals with increased sensitivity, biocompatibility, and viability in closed loops schemes in the brain such that new treatments and clinical applications can be created to treat those with neural damage of various kinds.
[16] Neuromodulator devices can correct nervous system dysfunction related to Parkinson's disease, dystonia, tremor, Tourette's, chronic pain, OCD, severe depression, and eventually epilepsy.
Specifically, researchers handle analytical or finite element modeling to determine nervous system control of movements and apply these techniques to help patients with brain injuries or disorders.
Neural interfacing involves temporary regeneration of biomaterial scaffolds or chronic electrodes and must manage the body's response to foreign materials.
Fiber optics can be implanted in the brain to stimulate or silence targeted neurons using light, as well as record photon activity—a proxy of neural activity— instead of using electrodes.
[16] Brain–computer interfaces seek to directly communicate with human nervous system to monitor and stimulate neural circuits as well as diagnose and treat intrinsic neurological dysfunction.
[9] Microelectrode arrays are specific tools used to detect the sharp changes in voltage in the extracellular environments that occur from propagation of an action potential down an axon.
Dr. Mark Allen and Dr. LaPlaca have microfabricated 3D electrodes out of cytocompatible materials such as SU-8 and SLA polymers which have led to the development of in vitro and in vivo microelectrode systems with the characteristics of high compliance and flexibility to minimize tissue disruption.
Motor prosthetics are devices involved with electrical stimulation of biological neural muscular system that can substitute for control mechanisms of the brain or spinal cord.
Smart prostheses can be designed to replace missing limbs controlled by neural signals by transplanting nerves from the stump of an amputee to muscles.
Functional electrical stimulation (FES) is a system aimed at restoring motor processes such as standing, walking, and hand grasp.
[21] For instance, making use of a computational model of epilectic spike-wave dynamics, it has been already proven the effectiveness of a method to simulate seizure abatement through a pseudospectral protocol.
Dr. LaPlaca is looking into methods combining neural stem cells with an extracellular matrix protein based scaffold for minimally invasive delivery into the irregular shaped lesions that form after a traumatic insult.
For larger injuries, an autologous nerve graft that has been harvested from another site in the body might be used, though this process is time-consuming, costly and requires two surgeries.
[18] Clinical treatment for CNS is minimally available and focuses mostly on reducing collateral damage caused by bone fragments near the site of injury or inflammation.
Advantages of autologous tissue grafts are that they come from natural materials which have a high likelihood of biocompatibility while providing structural support to nerves that encourage cell adhesion and migration.
[18] Nonautologous tissue, acellular grafts, and extracellular matrix based materials are all options that may also provide ideal scaffolding for nerve regeneration.
Nerve guidance channels must be readily formed into a conduit with the desired dimensions, sterilizable, tear resistant, and easy to handle and suture.
Gene therapy techniques have also been studied to provide long-term production of growth factors and could be delivered with viral or non-viral vectors such as lipoplexes.
Deep brain stimulation has already been shown to enhance memory recall as noted by patients currently using this treatment for neurological disorders.