Research team - studying neural coding and neuroprosthetics- looking for a software/electronics engineer to design/run scientific rigs and interface brains with machines. C++, Python, and Matlab required. bensmaialab.org. Yep. It's that cool. Hollah.

Our paper characterizing sensory computations in the cuneate nucleus of macaques out today in PNASNews. With Aneesha K. Suresh Charles M. Greenspon Qinpu He Joshua Rosenow and Kathleen Cullen. CN is more similar to cortex than it is to the peripheral nerves. pnas.org/content/118/49…

Tactile input is sculpted according to its behavioral relevance via top down signals in the cuneate nucleus. With Qinpu He Chris Versteeg Aneesha K. Suresh Joshua Rosenow Kathleen Cullen. Check it! @https://doi.org/10.1101/2021.11.15.468735

Today, Anton Sobinov and I discovered that our paper in Nature Rev Neurosci on the neural mechanisms of manual dexterity is featured on the cover! And the illustration involves a piano! How fun!

Let's do this!

For artificial touch via peripheral nerve interfaces, sensation quality depends on the frequency of stimulation up to 60Hz. Above 60Hz, quality is constant. Out today in JNeurosci with Emily Graczyk Breanne Christie Qinpu He Dustin Tyler jneurosci.org/content/42/10/…

New perspective piece on cognitive control with Camden MacDowell, M.D. Ph.D. and Sina Tafazoli. We propose the brain uses a low-dimensional set of 'control states' to balance between precision of control with flexibility of learning. doi.org/10.1016/j.conb…

Hear ye, hear ye! ICMS of human somatosensory cortex (S1) activates motor cortex (M1), this activity is task-dependent and somatotopically patterned, and disrupts motor decoding. Collaboration between The University of Chicago UPMC Northwestern biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Cubist animal manifolds by Pablo Picasso!

We made it official with rnel and Kathleen Cullen! Follow us and check out our website, corticalbionics.com, for updates on our efforts to make better brain-controlled bionic hands!

New preprint with Caroline I Jahn on how the brain learns to control attention in a changing environment! We find attention is learned incrementally from reward feedback, and it maps stimuli into a generalized space that can guide decisions in many settings. biorxiv.org/content/10.110…

Charles Greenspon and his team have shown that biomimetic microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex can create reliable touch sensations for bionic hand control. Their project is selected as one of the 12 final nominees of the BCI Award 2023. 🧠 youtu.be/L-jAjemkLes

🚨New📜 Q: How do different individuals with unique brains perform the same action? Read🧵to find out! These findings: 1. pave the way for comparative studies across animals & 2. further show we can build brain-computer interfaces that work across users nature.com/articles/s4158…

A year ago today, I lost my PhD advisor, my academic father sliman bensmaia (@[email protected]). It’s hard to put into words how much he meant to us. Sliman believed in me when I doubted myself, guided me with patience, and inspired me to pursue knowledge with passion. We miss him deeply.