The emerging field of neuroprosthetics is focused on the development of therapeutic interventions that restore lost neural function by stimulating sensory or motor pathways, or by harnessing activity recorded from remnant neural pathways to control an external device. As Richard Normann discusses in this Review, penetrating microelectrode arrays are providing unprecedented selective access to the neurons of the CNS and PNS, and are likely to form the basis for new therapies for disorders of the nervous system.
