A Method for Generating Precise Temporal Patterns of Retinal Spiking Using Prosthetic Stimulation

Abstract

The goal of retinal prosthetic devices is to generate meaningful visual information in patients that have lost outer retinal function. To accomplish this, these devices should generate patterns of ganglion cell activity that closely resemble the spatial and temporal components of those patterns that are normally elicited by light. Here, we developed a stimulus paradigm that generates precise temporal patterns of activity in retinal ganglion cells, including those patterns normally generated by light. Electrical stimulus pulses (≥1-ms duration) elicited activity in neurons distal to the ganglion cells; this resulted in ganglion cell spiking that could last as long as 100 ms. However, short pulses,