John Downey
@johndowney.bsky.social
Developing brain controlled robotic arms at the University of Chicago.
Part of the Cortical Bionics Research Group and Sensorimotor Bionics.
Part of the Cortical Bionics Research Group and Sensorimotor Bionics.
Reposted by John Downey
We’re pleased to welcome Science Corporation, Synchron, and Zander Labs on board as sponsors for this year's SfN Social! Thank you for helping us bring this community together in San Diego.
Opportunities still available: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
Opportunities still available: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
September 17, 2025 at 6:43 PM
We’re pleased to welcome Science Corporation, Synchron, and Zander Labs on board as sponsors for this year's SfN Social! Thank you for helping us bring this community together in San Diego.
Opportunities still available: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
Opportunities still available: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
Reposted by John Downey
I'm very excited to share the workshop "𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐂𝐈𝐬: 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬" which will be on November 11 at the IEEE/EMBS International Conference on Neural Engineering in San Diego!
#IEEE #NER25 #neurotech #BCI #iBCI
#IEEE #NER25 #neurotech #BCI #iBCI
NER_2025_iBCI Workshop_Info_250903.pdf
lnkd.in
September 4, 2025 at 8:23 PM
I'm very excited to share the workshop "𝐈𝐦𝐩𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐭𝐞𝐝 𝐁𝐂𝐈𝐬: 𝐓𝐞𝐜𝐡𝐧𝐨𝐥𝐨𝐠𝐢𝐞𝐬, 𝐀𝐩𝐩𝐥𝐢𝐜𝐚𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬, 𝐚𝐧𝐝 𝐅𝐮𝐭𝐮𝐫𝐞 𝐃𝐢𝐫𝐞𝐜𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧𝐬" which will be on November 11 at the IEEE/EMBS International Conference on Neural Engineering in San Diego!
#IEEE #NER25 #neurotech #BCI #iBCI
#IEEE #NER25 #neurotech #BCI #iBCI
Reposted by John Downey
Huge thanks to our generous sponsors — Blackrock Neurotech, Cleveland FES Center, Brain Products / Brain Vision, and CorTec — for supporting the BCI Society’s SfN Social 2025! Your partnership makes this special event possible.
Learn more: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
Learn more: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
August 21, 2025 at 5:15 PM
Huge thanks to our generous sponsors — Blackrock Neurotech, Cleveland FES Center, Brain Products / Brain Vision, and CorTec — for supporting the BCI Society’s SfN Social 2025! Your partnership makes this special event possible.
Learn more: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
Learn more: bcisociety.org/bci-social-a...
#BCISocial #SfN2025
Reposted by John Downey
Now out in @natneuro.nature.com
What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed?
Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation
www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7
🧵1/18
What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed?
Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation
www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7
🧵1/18
August 21, 2025 at 9:20 AM
Now out in @natneuro.nature.com
What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed?
Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation
www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7
🧵1/18
What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed?
Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation
www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7
🧵1/18
Reposted by John Downey
The BCI Society is excited to introduce a new, discounted membership for BCI users and their family members or caregivers.
See bcisociety.org/membership/ for details.
See bcisociety.org/membership/ for details.
August 19, 2025 at 5:03 PM
The BCI Society is excited to introduce a new, discounted membership for BCI users and their family members or caregivers.
See bcisociety.org/membership/ for details.
See bcisociety.org/membership/ for details.
Reposted by John Downey
The most recent CBRG preprint on intracortical microstimulation is now available! Over 24 combined years across 5 participants, we delivered 168 million!!! pulses of stimulation and recorded everything that happened.
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Intracortical microstimulation in humans: a decade of safety and efficacy
Background Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of somatosensory cortex can restore a sense of touch to people with spinal cord injury (SCI). In this early-feasibility clinical trial, we evaluate the...
www.medrxiv.org
August 13, 2025 at 4:50 PM
The most recent CBRG preprint on intracortical microstimulation is now available! Over 24 combined years across 5 participants, we delivered 168 million!!! pulses of stimulation and recorded everything that happened.
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
www.medrxiv.org/content/10.1...
Reposted by John Downey
We had a great time at the @bcisociety.bsky.social meeting in Banff, Canada. We gathered almost all (@hunterschone.bsky.social?) the CBRG attendees (current and former) for the official photo.
@jenpitt.bsky.social @giacomovalle.bsky.social @johndowney.bsky.social @miskarous.bsky.social
@jenpitt.bsky.social @giacomovalle.bsky.social @johndowney.bsky.social @miskarous.bsky.social
June 9, 2025 at 4:49 PM
We had a great time at the @bcisociety.bsky.social meeting in Banff, Canada. We gathered almost all (@hunterschone.bsky.social?) the CBRG attendees (current and former) for the official photo.
@jenpitt.bsky.social @giacomovalle.bsky.social @johndowney.bsky.social @miskarous.bsky.social
@jenpitt.bsky.social @giacomovalle.bsky.social @johndowney.bsky.social @miskarous.bsky.social
Reposted by John Downey
Feeling energized by science, people, and the natural beauty of Canada 🌲✨
#BCI #Neuroscience #Neurotech #NeuralBionicsLab @corticalbionics.bsky.social #Chalmers
#BCI #Neuroscience #Neurotech #NeuralBionicsLab @corticalbionics.bsky.social #Chalmers
June 9, 2025 at 10:55 AM
Feeling energized by science, people, and the natural beauty of Canada 🌲✨
#BCI #Neuroscience #Neurotech #NeuralBionicsLab @corticalbionics.bsky.social #Chalmers
#BCI #Neuroscience #Neurotech #NeuralBionicsLab @corticalbionics.bsky.social #Chalmers
Reposted by John Downey
Here’s our latest publication, from Ceci Verbaarschot and colleagues. In this study, participants controlled their own implanted BCI brain stimulation patterns to create customized sensations.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Conveying tactile object characteristics through customized intracortical microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex - Nature Communications
In this study, three individuals with tetraplegia designed vivid, reliable and object-appropriate sensations with a variety of tactile characteristics using self-selected stimulus parameters that stim...
www.nature.com
May 7, 2025 at 3:35 PM
Here’s our latest publication, from Ceci Verbaarschot and colleagues. In this study, participants controlled their own implanted BCI brain stimulation patterns to create customized sensations.
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by John Downey
Atlanta friends, I want to extend a special invitation to have you join us for a really unique event we're hosting on May 7 called "Wired Lives: Personal Stories of Brain Implants": neuro.gatech.edu/wired-lives-...
Wired Lives: Personal Stories of Brain Implants | Neuro Next Initiative
neuro.gatech.edu
April 23, 2025 at 12:51 PM
Atlanta friends, I want to extend a special invitation to have you join us for a really unique event we're hosting on May 7 called "Wired Lives: Personal Stories of Brain Implants": neuro.gatech.edu/wired-lives-...
Reposted by John Downey
Are you …Ready for It? In this Era of neurotechnology, we wrote this TIMEly review of the technological and biological failure modes of implanted neural interfaces and how to overcome these challenges, Swiftly published in Bioelectronic Medicine. PS I’m so proud of these figures. rdcu.be/eduek
March 17, 2025 at 3:15 PM
Are you …Ready for It? In this Era of neurotechnology, we wrote this TIMEly review of the technological and biological failure modes of implanted neural interfaces and how to overcome these challenges, Swiftly published in Bioelectronic Medicine. PS I’m so proud of these figures. rdcu.be/eduek
Reposted by John Downey
@NIH Research Matters featuring our work on #bionic touch in #iBCI @corticalbionics.bsky.social
www.nih.gov/news-events/...
www.nih.gov/news-events/...
Creating an artificial sense of touch
Tiny electrodes placed precisely in the brain let people with spinal cord injuries feel sensations of shape, motion, and the orientation of objects on the skin.
www.nih.gov
March 3, 2025 at 8:59 AM
@NIH Research Matters featuring our work on #bionic touch in #iBCI @corticalbionics.bsky.social
www.nih.gov/news-events/...
www.nih.gov/news-events/...
Reposted by John Downey
Is our brain infinitely flexible or constrained? Oby & colleagues cleverly uses BCIs to test what cortical activity can/can't be generated quickly. Highly recommend!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
And you can get a tl;dr + my takes on why this is exciting here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
And you can get a tl;dr + my takes on why this is exciting here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Dynamical constraints on neural population activity - Nature Neuroscience
Oby, Degenhart, Grigsby and colleagues used a brain–computer interface to challenge monkeys to override their natural time courses of neural activity. They found the time courses to be highly robust, ...
www.nature.com
January 17, 2025 at 2:18 PM
Is our brain infinitely flexible or constrained? Oby & colleagues cleverly uses BCIs to test what cortical activity can/can't be generated quickly. Highly recommend!
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
And you can get a tl;dr + my takes on why this is exciting here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
And you can get a tl;dr + my takes on why this is exciting here: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by John Downey
New in @science.org our study "Tactile edges and motion via patterned microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex". 🦾 🧠 ⚡
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Interesting related perspective by prof. Paul Marasco science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Interesting related perspective by prof. Paul Marasco science.org/doi/10.1126/...
January 17, 2025 at 10:19 AM
New in @science.org our study "Tactile edges and motion via patterned microstimulation of the human somatosensory cortex". 🦾 🧠 ⚡
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Interesting related perspective by prof. Paul Marasco science.org/doi/10.1126/...
science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Interesting related perspective by prof. Paul Marasco science.org/doi/10.1126/...
Reposted by John Downey
New Deadline: Thursday, January 23, 2025
This extension applies to abstract submissions for individual oral and poster presentations for the upcoming BCI Meeting.
Learn more at bcisociety.org/bci-meeting/...
This extension applies to abstract submissions for individual oral and poster presentations for the upcoming BCI Meeting.
Learn more at bcisociety.org/bci-meeting/...
January 15, 2025 at 11:14 PM
New Deadline: Thursday, January 23, 2025
This extension applies to abstract submissions for individual oral and poster presentations for the upcoming BCI Meeting.
Learn more at bcisociety.org/bci-meeting/...
This extension applies to abstract submissions for individual oral and poster presentations for the upcoming BCI Meeting.
Learn more at bcisociety.org/bci-meeting/...
Reposted by John Downey
Our paper examining the #ethical and #technical requirements in clinical trials for implantable neural prostheses is out in #LancetDigitalHealth today.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Neural Bionics Lab Chalmers University of Technology @corticalbionics.bsky.social #neuroprosthetics
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Neural Bionics Lab Chalmers University of Technology @corticalbionics.bsky.social #neuroprosthetics
January 10, 2025 at 10:03 AM
Our paper examining the #ethical and #technical requirements in clinical trials for implantable neural prostheses is out in #LancetDigitalHealth today.
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Neural Bionics Lab Chalmers University of Technology @corticalbionics.bsky.social #neuroprosthetics
www.thelancet.com/journals/lan...
Neural Bionics Lab Chalmers University of Technology @corticalbionics.bsky.social #neuroprosthetics
Our new publication in Human Brain Mapping is a roadmap to implanting stimulation electrodes to evoke tactile sensations on the fingers of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) users. We share the plan and results for 5 study participants across a decade at 2 sites.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
December 30, 2024 at 8:01 PM
Our new publication in Human Brain Mapping is a roadmap to implanting stimulation electrodes to evoke tactile sensations on the fingers of Brain-Computer Interface (BCI) users. We share the plan and results for 5 study participants across a decade at 2 sites.
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/...
Reposted by John Downey
Can the motor system use sensory expectations to prepare for unexpected events?
Excited to share my latest work with @andpru.bsky.social – where we establish that sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits!
🧵 and paper below
1/
Excited to share my latest work with @andpru.bsky.social – where we establish that sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits!
🧵 and paper below
1/
December 23, 2024 at 1:00 PM
Can the motor system use sensory expectations to prepare for unexpected events?
Excited to share my latest work with @andpru.bsky.social – where we establish that sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits!
🧵 and paper below
1/
Excited to share my latest work with @andpru.bsky.social – where we establish that sensory expectations shape neural population dynamics in motor circuits!
🧵 and paper below
1/
Reposted by John Downey
Marc Schieber has published his insightful thoughts on the below paper and where it fits in the broader efforts towards dexterous neuroprosthetic hands in Nature BME:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 19, 2024 at 6:40 PM
Marc Schieber has published his insightful thoughts on the below paper and where it fits in the broader efforts towards dexterous neuroprosthetic hands in Nature BME:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
I'm excited to share a recent publication from our @corticalbionics.bsky.social research group, led by the team at the University of Chicago. Restored sensation is so important for improving prosthetic hands for people with motor impairments, and our latest efforts yielded some impressive results.
Our group has a new paper out now in Nature BME, led by Charles Greenspon. It covers a number of updates on how we can restore tactile sensation from the hand using intracortical microstimulation (ICMS).
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex - Nature Biomedical Engineering
An analysis of the localization and intensity of intracortical microstimulation in three participants with cervical spinal cord injury shows that overlapping projected fields from multiple electrodes ...
www.nature.com
December 9, 2024 at 3:30 PM
I'm excited to share a recent publication from our @corticalbionics.bsky.social research group, led by the team at the University of Chicago. Restored sensation is so important for improving prosthetic hands for people with motor impairments, and our latest efforts yielded some impressive results.
Reposted by John Downey
Check out our new paper 'Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex' on @NatureBiomedicalEngineering 🦾 🧠 ⚡
LINK: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
LINK: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
December 9, 2024 at 9:42 AM
Check out our new paper 'Evoking stable and precise tactile sensations via multi-electrode intracortical microstimulation of the somatosensory cortex' on @NatureBiomedicalEngineering 🦾 🧠 ⚡
LINK: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
LINK: www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Reposted by John Downey
The BCI Society is now accepting abstract submissions for the upcoming 11th International BCI Meeting.
Submit now at bcisociety.org.
Submit now at bcisociety.org.
December 2, 2024 at 11:03 AM
The BCI Society is now accepting abstract submissions for the upcoming 11th International BCI Meeting.
Submit now at bcisociety.org.
Submit now at bcisociety.org.
Reposted by John Downey
BCIs list! Still finding folks on here so please message me if you'd like to be added.
December 1, 2024 at 2:16 AM
BCIs list! Still finding folks on here so please message me if you'd like to be added.
There's a great new story out today in Nature about the state of sensory neuroprosthetic research. It features one of our participants from the University of Chicago and glimpses of exciting research from around the world.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
The quest to build bionic limbs that feel like the real thing
Through brain implants, neural interfaces and skin grafts, researchers are starting to restore sensation for paralysed or amputated limbs.
www.nature.com
November 12, 2024 at 4:02 PM
There's a great new story out today in Nature about the state of sensory neuroprosthetic research. It features one of our participants from the University of Chicago and glimpses of exciting research from around the world.
www.nature.com/articles/d41...
www.nature.com/articles/d41...