What is so hard about artificial tactile sensation?

Dr. Helms Tillery endeavors to understand the intricacies of neural control of real arm movement and to address crucial bioengineering issues in the design of neuro-electronic hybrid systems. The main thrust of his research is cortical interfaces for neuroprosthetics, in particular, the abilities and limitations that come about due to neural plasticity and adaption, and investigation into how tactile information can be input back into the central nervous system. Dr. Helms Tillery is also interested in the basal ganglia, a set of forebrain nuclei that are associated with motor disorders like Parkinson’s disease and Huntington’s chorea. He is using the systems and techniques developed for neuroprosthetics to study the basic physiology and pathophysiology of these structures.