Memory prosthetics — closed-loop brain-computer interfaces that decode hippocampal activity and deliver adaptive stimulation — are moving from animal proof-of-concept toward first-in-human trials, according to a review in iScience. The authors argue that chronically implantable systems require co-design of three subsystems that have been treated in isolation: biocompatible electrode interfaces, on-chip neuromorphic computation, and closed-loop control hardware. The review maps neuroscientific findings such as theta-phase tracking, theta-gamma coupling and sharp-wave ripple detection onto engineering specifications for latency, sampling and charge injection, and onto materials requirements for impedance, switching endurance and chronic stability. It also flags where small-cohort clinical results have been over-generalized.
