http://scopeblog.stanford.edu/2015/06/23/stanford-researchers-provides-insights-into-how-human-neurons-control-muscle-movement/
Rina Shaikh-Lesko on June 23rd, 2015 No Comments
Stanford researchers provide insights into how human neurons control muscle movement
Brain-Controlled_Prosthetic_Arm_2A few years ago, a team led by Stanford researcher Krishna Shenoy, PhD, published a paper that proposed a new theory for how neurons in the brain controlled the movement of muscles: Rather than sending out signals with parceled bits of information about the direction and size of movement, Shenoy’s team found that groups of neurons fired in rhythmic patterns to get muscles to act.
That research, done in 2012, was in animals. Now, Shenoy and Stanford neurosurgeon Jamie Henderson, MD, have followed up on that work to demonstrate that human neurons function in the same way, in what the researchers call a dynamical system. The work is described in a paper published in the scientific journal eLife today. In our news release on the study, the lead author, postdoctoral scholar Chethan Pandarinath, PhD, said of the work:
The earlier research with animals showed that many of the firing patterns that seem so confusing when we look at individual neurons become clear when we look at large groups of neurons together as a dynamical system.
The researchers implanted electrode arrays into the brains of two patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The new study provides further support for the initial findings and also lays the groundwork for advanced prosthetics like robotic arms that can be controlled by a person’s thoughts. The team is planning on working on computer algorithms that translate neural signals into electrical impulses that control prosthetic limbs.
Previously: Researchers find neurons fire rhythmically to create movement, Krishna Shenoy discusses the future of neural prosthetics at TEDxStanford, How does the brain plan movement? Stanford grad students explain in a video and Stanford researchers uncover the neural process behind reaction time
on June 23rd, 2015
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A few years ago, a team led by Stanford researcher Krishna Shenoy, PhD, published a paper that proposed a new theory
for how neurons in the brain controlled the movement of muscles: Rather
than sending out signals with parceled bits of information about the
direction and size of movement, Shenoy’s team found that groups of
neurons fired in rhythmic patterns to get muscles to act.That research, done in 2012, was in animals. Now, Shenoy and Stanford neurosurgeon Jamie Henderson, MD, have followed up on that work to demonstrate that human neurons function in the same way, in what the researchers call a dynamical system. The work is described in a paper published in the scientific journal eLife today. In our news release on the study, the lead author, postdoctoral scholar Chethan Pandarinath, PhD, said of the work:
The earlier research with animals showed that many of the firing patterns that seem so confusing when we look at individual neurons become clear when we look at large groups of neurons together as a dynamical system.The researchers implanted electrode arrays into the brains of two patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS), a neurodegenerative condition also known as Lou Gehrig’s disease. The new study provides further support for the initial findings and also lays the groundwork for advanced prosthetics like robotic arms that can be controlled by a person’s thoughts. The team is planning on working on computer algorithms that translate neural signals into electrical impulses that control prosthetic limbs.
Previously: Researchers find neurons fire rhythmically to create movement, Krishna Shenoy discusses the future of neural prosthetics at TEDxStanford, How does the brain plan movement? Stanford grad students explain in a video and Stanford researchers uncover the neural process behind reaction time
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