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Project

Neurophysiological investigations of the human and nonhuman primate cerebral cortex: from perception to action

Our current understanding of the human brain is limited because noninvasive measurements of neural activity cannot provide information on the functional properties of individual neurons. Although animal models remain invaluable to obtain basic information about the brain at the single-cell level, the translation to the human remains difficult because the brain has evolved, even with respect to our closest relatives, the nonhuman primates. Therefore, obtaining neural data in humans at the level of single neurons and populations of neurons represents a major progress for both basic and clinical neuroscience. We want to study a range of basic research questions using invasive electrophysiological recordings, microstimulation, functional imaging, computational modeling and advanced deep learning algorithms in human and nonhuman primates, with unprecedented spatial and temporal resolution. The focus of our project will be the neural basis of visual perception and action, with the ultimate goal to control a robot arm by means of neural activity. Our integrated and multidisciplinary approach, in a team consisting of experts in neurosurgery, neurophysiology, robotics, nanotechnology and artificial intelligence, will provide fundamental and unique insight into the widespread cortical networks supporting perception and action in the human brain, and will pave the way for novel clinical applications and cutting-edge technological developments.
Date:1 Oct 2018 →  30 Sep 2022
Keywords:vision, brain-machine interface, action, decoding, deep learning, robotics
Disciplines:Neurosciences, Biological and physiological psychology, Cognitive science and intelligent systems, Developmental psychology and ageing