Neural engineering

In various sciences, neural engineering is an emerging interdisciplinary field of research that uses engineering techniques to investigate the function and manipulate the behavior of the central or peripheral nervous systems. The field draws heavily on the fields of computational neuroscience, experimental neuroscience, clinical neurology, electrical engineering and signal processing of living neural tissue, and encompasses elements from robotics, computer engineering, tissue engineering, materials science, and nanotechnology.

Overview
Prominent goals in the field include restoration and augmentation of human function via direct interactions between the nervous system and artificial devices. Current research is focused on understanding the coding and processing of information in the sensory and motor systems, quantifying how this processing is altered in the pathological state, and how it can be manipulated through interactions with artificial devices including brain-computer interfaces and neuroprosthetics.

As neural engineering is an emerging field, information and research relating to it is comparatively limited, although this is changing rapidly. The first journal specifically devoted to neural engineering started in 2004: The Journal of Neural Engineering, and the first of now two international conference on neural engineering was held in Capri, Italy, in 2003. The 3rd one will be held in May 2007 in Hawaii.

Related Journals

 * IEEE Transactions on Biomedical Engineering
 * IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering
 * The Journal of Neural Engineering

Related Conferences

 * 1st International Conference on Neural Engineering, 2003
 * 2nd International Conference on Neural Engineering, 2005
 * 3rd International Conference on Neural Engineering, 2007 (old link?)

Neural Engineering Labs

 * Australia, UNSW, Australian Vision Prosthesis Group
 * Germany, Max-Planck-Institute for Biochemistry, Martinsried
 * Germany, Freiburg University, Brain Machine Interfacing Initiative
 * USA, Boston University, Neuronal Dynamics Laboratory
 * USA, Case Western Reserve University, Neural Engineering Center
 * USA, Columbia University, Laboratory for Intelligent Imaging and Neural Computing
 * USA, Duke University, Center for Neuroengineering
 * USA, Georgia Institute of Technology, Laboratory for Neural Engineering
 * USA, MIT Media Lab, Neuroengineering and Neuromedia Group
 * USA, University of California, Los Angeles, Neuroengineering Research Laboratory
 * USA, University of California, San Diego, Neural Engineering Lab
 * USA, University of Illinois, Urbana-Champaign, Neural Engineering Lab
 * USA, University of Michigan, Ann-Arbor, Neural Engineering Laboratory
 * USA, University of Oklahoma, Neural Engineering Laboratory
 * USA, University of Pennsylvania, Neuroengineering Research Lab
 * USA, University of Pittsburgh, McGowan Institute for Regenerative Medicine
 * USA, University of Southern California, Dr. Theodore W. Berger's Research Lab
 * USA, University of Utah, Dr. Richard A. Normann's Research Lab

Neural Engineering Training Programs

 * USA, Georgia Institute of Technology and Emory University, Atlanta, GA: NSF IGERT Neuroengineering Training Program
 * USA, Johns Hopkins University: Neuroengineering Training Program
 * USA, MIT Media Lab, Neuroengineering and Neuromedia Ph.D. Studies
 * USA, University of California, Los Angeles: Neuroengineering Training Program
 * USA, University of Pittsburgh: Neural Engineering Program