Most applications of Brain-Computer Interface technology have been focused on interaction with sensorimotor systems: deep brain stimulation is commonly used to treat movement disorders, and recording from motor areas has been studied in an attempt to restore environmental interaction for paralyzed individuals. However, many neurological and psychiatric conditions are associated with profound disability due to brain dysfunction in pathways other than the sensorimotor system, including those related to emotion, attention, speech, cognition, memory, and executive function. Interface with non-motor aspects of brain function has great potential to provide therapeutic benefit, either by recording to decode the neural activity that underlie these processes or by modifying pathological neural activity using neuroprosthetic approaches. In this Research Topic, we explore the emerging science of neural interface technology for the treatment of brain dysfunction that does not involve motor or sensory pathways.
Most applications of Brain-Computer Interface technology have been focused on interaction with sensorimotor systems: deep brain stimulation is commonly used to treat movement disorders, and recording from motor areas has been studied in an attempt to restore environmental interaction for paralyzed individuals. However, many neurological and psychiatric conditions are associated with profound disability due to brain dysfunction in pathways other than the sensorimotor system, including those related to emotion, attention, speech, cognition, memory, and executive function. Interface with non-motor aspects of brain function has great potential to provide therapeutic benefit, either by recording to decode the neural activity that underlie these processes or by modifying pathological neural activity using neuroprosthetic approaches. In this Research Topic, we explore the emerging science of neural interface technology for the treatment of brain dysfunction that does not involve motor or sensory pathways.