A wearable system for olfactory electrophysiological recording and animal motion control

BACKGROUND Bran-computer interface (BCI) is an important technique used in brain science. However, the large size of equipment and wires severely limit its practical applications. NEW METHODS This study presents a wearable system with bidirectional brain-computer interface based on Wi-Fi technology, which can be used for olfactory electrophysiological recording and animal motion control. RESULTS On the "brain-to-computer" side, the results show that the wireless system can record high-quality olfactory electrophysiological signals for over a month. By analyzing the recorded data, we find that the same mitral/tufted (M/T) cells can be activated by many odorants and different M/T cells can be activated by a single odorant. Further, we find neurons in dorsal lateral OB are highly sensitive to isoamyl acetate. On the "computer-to-brain" side, the results show that we can efficiently control rats' motions by applying electrical stimulations to electrodes implanted in specific brain regions. COMPARISON WITH EXISTING METHODS Most existing wireless BCI systems are designed for either recording or stimulating while our system is a bidirectional BCI featured with both functions. Taking advantage of our years of experience in olfactory decoding, we developed the first wireless system for olfactory electrophysiological recording and animal motion control. It provides high-quality recording and efficient motion control for a long time. CONCLUSIONS The system provides possibility of practical BCI applications, such as in vivo bioelectronic nose and "rat-robot".