Carbon nanotubes as electrical interfaces to neurons

Translating basic neuroscience research into experimental neurology applications often requires functional interfacing of the central nervous system (CNS) with artificial devices designed to monitor and/or stimulate brain electrical activity. Ideally, such interfaces should provide a high temporal and spatial resolution over a large area of tissue during stimulation and/or recording of neuronal activity, with the ultimate goal to elicit/detect the electrical excitation at the single-cell level and to observe the emerging spatiotemporal correlations within a given functional area. Activity patterns generated by CNS neurons have been typically correlated with a sensory stimulus, a motor response, or a potentially cognitive process.