Experimental study of RoboRat through deep brain stimulation and carbon nanotube coated microelectrodes

This paper presents a new test bed for control of RoboRat through deep brain stimulation. Alive free rat is controlled in order to move in desired directions. Surgery is performed on a rat's brain to put microelectrodes in MFB and S1BF areas (in left and right hemispheres). We used four bipolar implanted microelectrodes which are CNT coated by drop coating method. In experiments, the exact locations of electrodes are tested by removing the brain. Electrical stimulation of rat is done through an isolated portable signal generator circuit (as slave) which is carried by the rat. It has a RF receiver for communication with computer and a microcontroller for signal generation. Stimulation electrodes are connected to microcontroller so that the resistant is about 100 KΩ in artificial cerebral spinal fluid. Slave system is connected wirelessly to a computer (as master) so that an operator is able to control it. A graphic user interface is designed for ease of operation. The remote control system is implemented and tested on rat. The stimulation of both hemispheres is done simultaneously and non-simultaneously. The whole system is examined in three-day period and it showed that the brain-computer interface for rat using CNT coated microelectrodes is the effective in practice.