Neural activity in the lower pathway of the somatosensory system in the presence of silicon interfaces

In this communication, we present results of experimental work carried out in the frame of the ROSANA project aiming at the investigation of the interactions between sensory inputs and the activity of Central Nervous System (CNS) neurons in the creation of the internal representations of real-world stimuli. We implanted sieve microelectrodes in the peripheral nerve of rats and we obtained functional regeneration of the sensory nerves. We recorded the electrical activity of the regenerated nerve fibers and also of the relay neurons of the first station of the somatosensory pathway. Finally we developed mathematical models of the oscillatory neurons involved in the information processing that fit well with our experimental data.