Implantable neural interfaces advance the possibilities for neuroscientists to study the brain. They are also promising for use in a multitude of bioelectronic therapies. Electrode technology plays a central role in these developments, as the electrode surfaces form the physical interfaces between technology and the biological targets. Despite this, a common understanding of how electrodes should best be evaluated and compared with respect to their efficiency in recording and stimulation is currently lacking. Without broadly accepted performance tests, it is difficult to rank the many suggestions for electrode materials available in the literature, or to identify where efforts should be focused to advance the field most efficiently. This tutorial critically discusses the most relevant performance tests for characterization of neural interface electrodes and explains their implementation, interpretation and respective limitations. We propose a unified standard to facilitate transparent reporting on electrode performance, promote efficient scientific process and ultimately accelerate translation into clinical practice.

可植入的神经接口提高了神经科学家研究大脑的可能性。它们也有望用于多种生物电子疗法。电极技术在这些发展中发挥着核心作用，因为电极表面形成了技术与生物目标之间的物理界面。尽管如此，目前仍缺乏对电极应如何最好地评估和比较其记录和刺激效率的共同理解。如果没有广泛接受的性能测试，就很难对文献中可用的电极材料的许多建议进行排序，或者确定应该将重点放在哪些方面以最有效地推进该领域。本教程批判性地讨论了与神经接口电极表征最相关的性能测试，并解释了它们的实现、解释和各自的局限性。我们提出了一个统一的标准，以促进电极性能的透明报告，促进高效的科学过程并最终加速转化为临床实践。