John Donoghue
Professor:
Neuroscience, Engineering
Phone: +1 401 863 2701
Phone 2: +1 401 863 1054
John_Donoghue@Brown.EDU
Our laboratory investigates how the brain turns thought into voluntary behaviors and how that knowledge can be used to help persons with paralysis. We study how populations of neurons represent and transform information as a motor plan becomes movement. This approach has required the creation of a novel recording array to study neural ensembles. With the knowledge we have gained about movement representation, we have translated our findings to a clinical application in which humans with paralysis can use their neurons directly to control devices.
Interests
Donoghue's laboratory builds on pioneering research in neurotechnology. Brown, which has established a team of internationally recognized scientists and engineers in this emerging field, seeks to develop brain machine interfaces that can restore independence to paralyzed humans and potentially augment human capabilities.
Spinal cord injury, stroke, multiple sclerosis, and related nervous system diseases are disabling disorders of movement that currently affect millions of people in the United States. Donoghue's lab investigates how the brain turns thought into voluntary behaviors. At the core of this problem is understanding higher level neural coding — or how populations of neurons represent complex information. To study neural coding, scientists in the lab are developing novel multielectrode recording arrays suitable for chronic implantation in the cerebral cortex. The lab is using these multielectrode arrays to examine the coding of goal-directed reaching by ensembles of cerebral cortical neurons and to examine how ensembles change when a new motor skill is learned.
The laboratory works closely with several other Brown Brain Science faculty members to develop and test theories of higher order representation and to generate new mathematical tools to examine neural codes. Brain Science faculty also are applying the laboratory's knowledge of neural codes for movement to build brain computer interfaces. These devices can potentially be used as a neural prosthetic to restore movement to paralyzed humans. Along with a synergy of talent from the departments of Neuroscience, Computer Science, Electrical Engineering, and the Medical School, Donoghue's laboratory recently demonstrated the neurotechnology of these devices in landmark proof of concept experiments (Nature 2002). Using this innovative technology, nonhuman primates (monkeys) were able to play videogames directly through brain outputs. The signals are retrieved by unique microelectronic circuitry, and decoded by advanced mathematical and computational techniques. Technologies enable neural signals from a normal brain to bypass injured or diseased spinal cord, nerves, or muscle to provide a new output that can control artificial limbs, robotic equipment, or even the patient's own muscles. The devices can potentially be applied to remote control of computer interfaces or semiautonomous air or sea craft. With colleagues, Donoghue formed a new company (Cyberkinetics, Inc.) that will use tiny arrays of electrodes to capture the information encoded in the firing patterns of populations of neurons to control a computer and thence any device that can be computer controlled.
Degrees
PHD, MS
Awards
Fellowships and Awards:
2007 K.J. Zülch Prize (Max Planck/Reemstma Foundation)
Javitts Award (NINDS 2002)
Henry Merritt Wriston Professorship
Fellow AIMBE
Fellow AAAS
March of Dimes Foundation, Basil O'Connor Fellowship
International Brain Research Organization (IBRO) 1999 travel award for World Congress of Neuroscience
Faculty of International School of Neuroscience
Grass Foundation Traveling Lecturer (University of Rochester, 2000)
Public Health Service Traineeship in the Anatomical Sciences (Graduate training)
National Institutes of Health (NIH) Postdoctoral Fellowship
Discover Award for Innovation (DIscover Magazine)
Gold Electrode Award: Neurotechnology Researcher of the Year. Neurotechnology Reports, 2004
Popular Mechanics 2005 Breakthrough Award
Nominee, 2005 World Technology Award in the category of Health and Medicine
Wired Magazine, Biggest Discoveries of 2005
Affiliations
Society for Neuroscience
American Association of Anatomists
American Association for the Advancement of Science
International Brain Research Organizations
New York Academy of Sciences
The American Physiological Society
Federation of American Societies for Experimental Biology
Neural Control of Movement
History of Neuroscience
Association of Anatomy, Cell Biology and Neurobiology Chairpersons
American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
Funded Research
Ongoing Research Support
R01 NS25074
PI: John P. Donoghue
National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke (NINDS) - "Static and Dynamic Organization of Primate Motor Cortex"
Annual Direct Costs: $250,000; Effort 11.1%
7/31/98-4/30/09
Description: This project uses multichannel recordings in monkeys to examine the role of neural population codes in forming higher level representations in motor cortex.
Veterans Health Administration
Co-PI: John Donoghue; PI: Roy Aaron
"Rebuilding, Regenerating and Restoring Function After Traumatic Limb Loss"
Annual Direct Cost: $94,000; Effort 1%
12/4/04-12/03/09
Description: This project addresses the rebuilding, regeneratin and restoring function after traumatic limb
loss.
5 R01 NS 050967
PI: Michael Black
Co-PI: John Donoghue
NINDS
"CRCNS: Learning the Neural Code for Prosthetic Control"
Period: 8/15/04-5/31/07; Annual Direct Costs: ~$226,796; Effort 8%
Description: This project will develop technologies for neural prostheses which promises a new generation of therapies for the severely disabled to allow them to regain the ability to interact with the world.
PI: John Donoghue
Office of Naval Research (ONR)
N0014-06-0185
"Neural Interfaces to Understand Human Motor Performance"
Annual Direct Cost: $657,129; Effort 8%
12/15/05 – 9/29/06
Description: This project addresses fundamental issues to create safer, more effective human machine interfaces by elucidating the neural computational processes that lead to a motor action and by developing interfaces that can provide a new means of human machine interaction.
Pending Research
PI: Clyde Briant
CoPI: John Donoghue
Office of Naval Research
"Bio-Integrating Structural and Neural Prosthetic Materials
Total Direct Cost: $4,061,583
Proposed Period: 5/1/06 – 4/30/11
Description: This project will examine the biocompatibility between parts of the prosthesis and the tissue that surrounds it, neural architecture that is required to transmit signals from the brain to the prosthesis, decoding of neural signals so that they can be used by a sensor on the prosthesis and development of new elastic materials for internal sensors.
PI: John Donoghue
National Institutes of Health
"Brain Science Interdisciplinary Core Facilities"
Proposed Period: 7/1/2006 – 6/30/2011 Total Direct Costs: $7,203,631
Description: This project proposes the formation of six core facilities for Brain Science researchers at Brown University. These six cores will include 1) Movement Analysi;s 2) Optical Imaging; 3) Gene Manipulation; 4) Neuroimaging;5) Neurotechnology/Advanced computing; 6) Brain Bank at Rhode Island Hospital
Completed Research
N00014-04-1-0823
PI: John Donoghue
ONR Contract
"Neural Interfaces to Enhance Human Motor Performance"
Annual Direct Cost: $696,710; Effort 8%
10/4/04 -12/30/05
Description: This project addresses fundamental issues to create safer, more effective human machine
interfaces by elucidating the neural computational processes that lead to a motor action and by developing
interfaces that can provide a new means of human machine interaction.
