Restoring Sensation and Perception: From neural coding to adaptive neurotechnology

Sensation and perception arise from complex neural processes through which the human brain encodes, integrates, interprets, and adapts to information from the external environment and the body. Disruption of these processes can result from sensory loss, stroke, traumatic brain injury, spinal cord injury, neurodegenerative disorders, chronic pain, and other neurological conditions, substantially impairing communication, mobility, independence, and quality of life. At the same time, rapid advances in neural recording, computational modelling, brain–computer interfaces, neuroprosthetics, artificial intelligence, and adaptive neuromodulation are creating new opportunities to restore, substitute, or rehabilitate sensory and perceptual functions. A major challenge, however, is to connect technological innovation with a sufficiently detailed understanding of the neural mechanisms that support sensation and perception. Effective restoration requires more than the detection or transmission of neural signals. Neurotechnologies must account for how sensory information is represented across neural populations, transformed into conscious perception, integrated across modalities, and reshaped through learning, adaptation, and plasticity. They must also generate feedback that is perceptually meaningful, functionally useful, and capable of adapting to individual differences and changing neural states. This Research Topic aims to bring together mechanistic, computational, technological, and translational studies that advance understanding of human sensory coding and perceptual processing while informing the development of adaptive neurotechnologies. Particular emphasis will be placed on research that establishes a clear link between the neural basis of sensation and perception and technologies designed to restore, replace, modulate, or rehabilitate these functions. The Topic welcomes contributions addressing visual, auditory, somatosensory, proprioceptive, vestibular, olfactory, gustatory, and multisensory systems. Studies involving healthy participants, individuals with sensory impairment, and patients with neurological disorders are encouraged, provided that the work is grounded in human neuroscience or has a clearly defined translational relevance to human sensory and perceptual function. Topics of interest include, but are not limited to: - Neural coding and decoding of sensory and perceptual information; - Neural representations underlying detection, discrimination, recognition, and conscious perception; - Sensory integration, predictive processing, and multisensory perception; - Perceptual learning, sensory adaptation, neural plasticity, and cortical reorganization; - Mechanisms of sensory loss, altered perception, phantom sensation, neuropathic pain, and perceptual dysfunction; - Brain–computer and brain–machine interfaces for sensory restoration or feedback; - Bidirectional neural interfaces and closed-loop sensory systems; - Visual, auditory, tactile, proprioceptive, vestibular, and multisensory neuroprostheses; - Sensory substitution, sensory augmentation, and artificial sensory feedback; - Adaptive neuromodulation and personalized neural stimulation; - Non-invasive and invasive stimulation approaches targeting sensory and perceptual networks; - Artificial intelligence and machine learning for neural signal decoding, state estimation, and adaptive control; - Computational modelling of sensory processing, perception, and neurotechnology-mediated rehabilitation; - Patient-specific modelling and digital twin approaches for personalized sensory restoration; - Immersive, wearable, virtual, and augmented reality technologies for perceptual training and rehabilitation; - Neuroimaging, electrophysiology, and multimodal approaches for evaluating neurotechnology-induced changes; - Biomarkers of sensory recovery, perceptual adaptation, and neuroprosthetic embodiment; - Human–device interaction, usability, accessibility, and long-term adaptation; - Clinical translation, validation, safety, ethics, and real-world implementation of sensory neurotechnologies. Purely engineering-oriented studies should clearly demonstrate their relevance to human sensory or perceptual neuroscience. Similarly, clinical studies focused only on diagnosis, treatment efficacy, or rehabilitation outcomes should include a clear neural or perceptual mechanistic foundation. Manuscripts centered solely on device performance, public health, epidemiology, or healthcare policy without a direct connection to the mechanisms of human sensation and perception will fall outside the intended scope of this Research Topic. By integrating fundamental neuroscience with adaptive and clinically relevant technologies, this Research Topic seeks to clarify how knowledge of neural coding and perceptual processing can be translated into more effective, personalized, and accessible approaches for restoring sensation and perception. Topic editors: Baojian Wei, Tianze Sun, Hongyu Zhang Source: https://www.frontiersin.org/research-topics/84872/restoring-sensation-and-perception-from-neural-coding-to-adaptive-neurotechnology