Takashi Kozai identified public grants as the source of science needed for durable neural interfaces
Takashi Kozai identified public grants as the source of science needed for durable neural interfaces
On August 2, bioengineer Takashi Kozai published an essay about who funds brain implant research. In 2016, he was invited to join the team that would become Neuralink, but he chose a university laboratory, where he studies how the brain responds to an electrode.
An intracortical neural interface uses electrodes implanted in the cerebral cortex. They record neuronal activity or deliver electrical impulses to neurons. The electrode remains among the blood vessels, nerve fibers, and cells that support nervous tissue. The durability of the recording depends on how this tissue changes near the electrode.
A review in Nature Biomedical Engineering coauthored by Kozai describes how glial cells respond to an implant. Glia support neuronal function. In his new essay, Kozai links long-term recording performance to changes in myelin, blood supply, and metabolism around the electrode. When this environment changes, so does the signal that the device receives from neurons.
The engineering team modifies the device, while the laboratory determines why the tissue changes the conditions under which it operates. Long-term observation connects these tasks. Once researchers identify a biological cause, engineers can determine what to correct in the next version of the electrode.
“The science we are discovering now is the runway for the next Neuralink 20 years from now,” Kozai writes.
According to Kozai, his laboratory conducted this research with NIH and NSF grants administered through the University of Pittsburgh. His university profile lists improving the long-term performance of implanted electrodes as part of his research program. In Kozai’s account, a grant funds years of observation, which provide engineers with a reason for the next change to the device.
An implant designed to last for decades requires both observation of the surrounding tissue and changes to the electrode. Kozai chose work in which the first provides the basis for the second.