ABSTRACT
When envisioning a neural prosthesis, the image that emerges is of electrical stimulation through one or several implanted electrodes to restore lost body function. While stimulation is the basis for restoration of sensory and motor function, recording is also essential in the development and employment of a prosthesis. First, extensive physiological recording research must be performed to investigate and perhaps map an area into which a stimulation device will be implanted. The foundation on which a cochlear implant performs, for example, is the tonotopic organization of the cochlea. This map, studied and verified in part using extracellular recording, became the basis for the design of the stimulation prosthesis. Similarly, maps have been identified in primary visual cortex which encode features such as orientation, direction, and color.
