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SUMMARY:Adaptive Neurotechnologies: Principles and Promise
DTSTART:20140319T143000
DTSTAMP:20260413T212232Z
UID:d35ec77ff349bfd579e2eebd52dbd38ada8b31f52a3c5f3021655138
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Prof. Jonathan R. Wolpaw\, Wadsworth Center\, New York State D
 ept of Health and State University of New York\, Albany\, NY (USA)\nDISTIN
 GUISHED LECTURE IN BIOLOGICAL ENGINEERINGAbstract:\nRecent recognition tha
 t the central nervous system (CNS) changes continually throughout life\, a
 nd recent development of high-performance hardware and software\, provide 
 unprecedented opportunities for realtime adaptive interactions with the CN
 S.\nWe have built a technological infrastructure that supports such adapti
 ve interactions and are using it to enable\, explore\, and exploit three m
 ajor kinds of interactions:\n\n		Operant conditioning of simple spinal cor
 d reflexes - The simplest spinal reflex pathways can be modified through o
 perant conditioning\, and appropriate modifications can improve walking in
  animals and humans with spinal cord injuries. This work opens a new appro
 ach to neurorehabilitation.\n	\n		Translation of scalp-recorded electroenc
 ephalographic (EEG) activity into communication and control outputs - Peop
 le can learn to use EEG features to communicate and even to control moveme
 nts in multiple dimensions. A brain-computer interface (BCI) system design
 ed for independent home use can restore basic communication capacity to pe
 ople with severe disabilities. BCIs may also enhance rehabilitation after 
 strokes and in other disorders.\n	\n		Mapping of and interactions with dis
 tributed cortical functions using electrocorticographic (ECoG) activity re
 corded from the cortical surface - Analysis methods that take advantage of
  the high spatiotemporal resolution of ECoG signals provide a new function
 al mapping system that is a safer and more efficient alternative to stimul
 ation-based mapping prior to brain surgery. ECoG analysis can also elucida
 te the complex cortical processing underlying sensorimotor functions.\n\nA
 s these examples illustrate\, adaptive neurotechnologies can produce new s
 cientific insights\; and they can also induce and guide plasticity so as t
 o restore functions impaired by trauma or disease.Bio:\nDr. Wolpaw earned 
 his M.D. at Case Western Reserve University in 1970 and did his postdoctor
 al training at the National Institutes of Health (NIH). He is Chief of the
  Laboratory of Nervous System Disorders at the Wadsworth Center\, New York
  State Department of Health and State University of New York. He is also P
 rofessor\, School of Public Health\, Biomedical Sciences.\nThe primary int
 erest of Dr. Wolpaw's laboratory is in development and use of a new model 
 for defining the substrates of vertebrate learning. His studies have demon
 strated operant conditioning of the simplest behavior of the vertebrate CN
 S\, the H-reflex\, which is the electrical analog of the spinal stretch re
 flex. The responsible plasticity is in the spinal cord\, so that H-reflex 
 conditioning is a good model for studying the processes underlying a learn
 ed change in behavior. In addition\, it is the basis for a new therapeutic
  approach to spasticity and other forms of abnormal reflex function. His p
 resent goals are to define the spinal cord plasticity associated with H-re
 flex conditioning both physiologically and anatomically\, and to determine
  how supraspinal control produces this plasticity.\nIn addition\, he is de
 veloping brain-computer interface (BCI) technology to restore communicatio
 n and control to people who are severely paralyzed by amyotrophic lateral 
 sclerosis (ALS)\, strokes\, or other devastating neuromuscular disorders. 
 People learn to use their brain waves recorded from the scalp to select le
 tters or icons on a computer screen or to move a cursor. He has begun to t
 ake his BCI system out of the lab and into the homes of people with severe
  disabilities. He is testing its capacity to restore communication and con
 trol to them in their daily lives.Speaker's personal web page
LOCATION:SV1717A http://map.epfl.ch/?room=sv1717a
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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