Abstract

To successfully design artificial limbs for motor control, engineers often view the body itself as the ideal design template: focusing device design and control on becoming more like our biological bodies. But ultimately, the success of artificial limb will critically depend on its neural representation in our brains. Importantly, neurocognitive resources might differ radically, depending on the user’s life experiences and needs. Here I will present a series of studies where we investigated the neural basis of artificial limb use for both substitution and augmentation technologies. We find that contrary to folk wisdom, the brain does not copy neural representations from the biological body to best support motor control of artificial limb, creating opportunities for novel technological interfaces. Collectively, these studies suggest that although, in principle, opportunities exist for harnessing hand neural and cognitive resources to control artificial limbs, alternative non-biomimetic approaches could be also well suited for successful human-device interface.

The seminar will be held in LR5 , Baker Building, Department of Engineering, and online (zoom): https://us06web.zoom.us/j/87986687566?pwd=MGJScmMwd2lwT0tVMHNmWmxSa05XZz09