Internal models have been proposed to explain the brain's ability to compensate for sensory feedback delays by predicting the sensory consequences of movement commands. Single-neuron studies in the oculomotor and vestibulo-ocular systems have provided evidence of internal models, as have behavioral studies in the skeletomotor system. We have found evidence that subjects also engage internal models when using a brain-computer interface. In collaboration with Byron Yu of Carnegie Mellon's Biomedical Engineering and Electrical & Computer Engineering Departments, we are investigating how these internal models develop and adapt during learning.

Funded by the NIH/NSF CRCNS program to Byron Yu