Abstract:

Brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) represent a defining breakthrough in neural engineering, enabling direct, real-time communication with the central nervous system to interrogate the fundamental mechanisms governing movement, sensation, communication, and human cognition. Utilizing implanted Utah arrays, my work has established one of the largest chronic interfaces of the human cortex, enabling simultaneous stimulation and recording from pre-frontal, motor, somatosensory and multiple regions within posterior parietal cortex in the same human participant. This work has enabled individuals with paralysis to control robotic limbs, experience somatic touch and proprioception, and communicate through decoded neural signals, while also revealing fundamental insights into distributed cortical representations and network dynamics. Across five implanted participants, we will discuss recent translational efforts to remove barriers to clinical adoption and deployment of invasive neural technologies. With stimulation design for shaping somatosensory percepts, cortical mapping strategies for implant targeting, and the long-term stability of neural recording and stimulation over nearly a decade, these capabilities provide a unique foundation to interrogate cortex wide representations of somatosensory processing, language and executive function across the cortical grasping and fronto-parietal networks.

 Teams Meeting ID: 213 787 961 462 94 Passcode: vh2j7Jf6