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SUMMARY:A neural population view to understand and restore movement
DTSTART:20190305T150000
DTEND:20190305T160000
DTSTAMP:20260929T050211Z
UID:04f5b2bbe307f9f84db26f4b0ea1f8cdecc8991e82f309042fe8a434
CATEGORIES:Conferences - Seminars
DESCRIPTION:Dr Juan Álvaro Gallego\, Spanish National Research Council (C
 SIC)\, Spain.\nThe analysis of neural population activity across brain cor
 tices has consistently uncovered low-dimensional subspaces that capture a 
 significant fraction of neural variability. These “neural manifolds” a
 re spanned by specific population-wide patterns of neural covariation. My 
 work exploits this theoretical framework to understand the principles of r
 obust and flexible neural computation. In this seminar\, I will discuss ho
 w the neural manifold framework may help understand how the brain learns a
 nd controls behavior\, and allow us to develop better Brain-Computer Inter
 faces (BCIs) that restore loss function after neurological injury or disea
 se. I will start by reviewing three recent studies in which my colleagues 
 and I adopted the neural manifold framework to describe novel computationa
 l aspects of motor control and short-term learning. First\, we found that 
 population activity spanning many different behaviours lies within a well-
 preserved neural manifold\, with very similar dynamics across the tasks. T
 his result was surprising given the complex changes in single neuron activ
 ity across the behaviours. Second\, we studied how animals can learn to ra
 pidly adapt their movements\, even after single errors. Contrary to the pr
 evailing view that learning must be associated with synaptic plasticity\, 
 we showed that it could occur simply through population-wide computations 
 within a stable neural manifold. Lastly\, while animals can consistently e
 xecute a well-learned behaviour\, yet the neural basis for such consistenc
 y has been elusive. We found that neural population dynamics in three diff
 erent cortical areas critical for movement planning\, movement execution\,
  and feedback processing remains stable for a given behaviour over days\, 
 months or even years. In the final part of my talk\, I will describe how t
 hese findings can be exploited to develop a BCI-controlled neuroprosthesis
  to restore hand use after paralysis over extended periods of time. This f
 ully-wireless neuroprosthesis predicts the intended activation of many par
 alyzed arm and hand muscles\, and directly achieves the desired activation
  by injecting electrical current into the corresponding muscles\, thereby 
 restoring volitional control of the hand. Building on our neuroscience wor
 k\, I will show how muscle activity during a broad range of naturalistic b
 ehaviors can be predicted based on the population dynamics within a stable
  neural manifold. Given that these population dynamics can be recovered ev
 en in the face of changing recorded neurons\, these combined observations 
 will potentially enable BCI-based neuroprostheses that are intuitive and s
 table over unprecedented periods of time.\n\nBio\nJuan Álvaro Gallego is 
 a “Talent Attraction” Postdoctoral Fellow working in the Neural and Co
 gnitive Engineering Group at the Spanish National Research Council (CSIC).
  He studies how the brain learns and controls movement based on a combinat
 ion of high-yield neural population recordings\, computational methods\, b
 rain-computer interfaces\, and behavioural analysis. He has pursued these 
 questions in human patients\, nonhuman primates\, and rodents\, while he w
 orked or visited at institutions such as CSIC\, Aalborg University\, North
 western University and Janelia Research Centre. Dr. Gallego’s goal is to
  understand how behaviours are learned\, recalled\, executed\, and adapted
 \, and use this knowledge to engineer neuroprosthetics to restore movement
  after neurological injury or disease. Throughout his career\, he has pres
 ented his work in over twenty conferences and invited seminars\, and autho
 red or co-authored over seventy peer-reviewed publications\, including twe
 nty-two articles in scientific journals across a breadth of disciplines\, 
 such as biomedical engineering\, neuroscience\, and cybernetics.\n\nVideo 
 transmission using zoom : https://epfl.zoom.us/j/9946495775\n 
LOCATION:SV 1717 https://plan.epfl.ch/?room==SV%201717
STATUS:CONFIRMED
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