News

An early predictor of cognitive decline in Parkinson's disease

Published:30.06.23 — EPFL neuroscientists say that early hallucinations disease indicate a greater risk of cognitive decline when there is a diagnosis of Parkinson's.

Amputees feel warmth in their missing hand

Published:19.05.23 — An unexpected discovery about temperature feedback has led to new bionic technology that allows amputees to sense the temperature of objects ­– both hot and cold – directly in the phantom hand. The technology opens up new avenues for non-invasive prosthetics.

Phantom Boarder and Presence Hallucinations: overlapping mechanisms?

Published:24.04.23 — Novel work relating Phantom Boarder Syndrome and Presence Hallucinations published in Movement Disorders Clinical Practice

Collaboration with the Memory Center of Lausanne University Hospital

Published:24.04.23 — We are happy to announce a new collaboration with Professor Gilles Allali and his team at the Memory Centre (Centre Leenards de la Memoire) of Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV). We have just successfully tested our first patient with Lewy Body dementia.

Chuong Ngo joined the Blanke Lab as postdoctoral researcher

Published:20.03.23 — Chuong will work on the project "The Home Within: Minimal Phenomenal Selfhood, Phenomenal Existence, and Meditation Neuroengineering".

Pavo Orepic interviewed by NYT for perception of one's own voice

Published:08.03.23 — In a new study published in Royal Society Open Science, Orepic and colleagues from LNCO showed that bone conduction improves recognition of one's own voice. The study garnered media attention.

Virtual Medicine Center launched at Geneva University Hospital (HUG)

Published:07.02.23 — Geneva University Hospital (HUG) launched Virtual Medicine Center aiming to bring VR/AR/MR technologies to the bedside for digital diagnostics and digital therapeutics.

Hang Yang joined the Blanke Lab as postdoctoral researcher

Published:26.01.23 — Hang will work on the project "The Home Within: Minimal Phenomenal Selfhood, Phenomenal Existence, and Meditation Neuroengineering".

Haruki Yusuke joins Blanke Lab as a visiting PhD student

Published:08.12.22 — Haruki Yusuke has joined our Lab, as a visiting PhD student, thanks to support received from the young researcher exchange program, between Japan and Switzerland.

Breathing is coupled with imagined actions

Published:18.11.22 — New findings show that the voluntary initiation of imagined actions is coupled with respiration, suggesting that the breathing system is involved in preparatory processes of voluntary action.

New method for induction and real-time assessment of hallucinations

Published:13.10.22 — Fosco Bernasconi and colleagues report in a new paper, published in Nature Protocols, a new robotic method and procedure allowing to induce and investigate specific hallucinations that affect patients with Parkinson’s disease, Dementia with Lewy bodies or schizophrenia.

Pierre Progin receives the Incentive Frutiger prize

Published:27.09.22 — The Frutiger Foundation rewards research in neuropsychiatry and neuropsychology. The study was conducted by researchers from the Department of Psychiatry of the Lausanne University Hospital (CHUV) and the Blanke Lab at EPFL.

Our online study with Parkinson's disease patients is now completed

Published:22.08.22 — We performed an online study to better understand the causes of minor hallucinations, which are frequent symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. The study tested the effects of specific hallucinations on a cognitive task.

Loup Vuarnesson joins Blanke Lab as VR Developer

Published:22.08.22 — Loup will work on a new project linking Meditation, the Self & Neuroengineering

Brain stimulation improves motor skill learning at older age

Published:27.07.22 — Non-invasive brain stimulation can restore optimal motor skill acquisition in people with diminished learning capabilities, e.g. due to age. The study was carried out by scientists at EPFL.

Members of the Blanke Lab attended OHBM 2022 conference

Published:04.07.22 — Several members of the Blanke Lab were in Glasgow (UK) to attend the Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) 2022 Annual Meeting, that took place from 19th – 23rd of June!

Nathalie Meyer won the Doc.Mobility EPFL grant – Congratulations!

Published:11.05.22 — Congratulations to Nathalie Meyer! The Doc.Mobility EPFL grant will allow Nathalie to spend 6 months at West Virginia University, Rockefeller Neurosciences Institute (WVU-RNI) with the team of Prof. Rezai. From August 2022 until January 2023, Nathalie will work on a project titled ‘Focused ultrasound (FUS) to open the blood-brain barrier in the medial temporal lobe of patients with early Alzheimer’s disease: FUS effects on spatial memory and neuroimaging’.

Self in spatial navigation and human grid cell activity

Published:04.05.22 — Hyuk-June Moon and colleagues report in a new paper, just published in Communications Biology, that the sense of self impacts spatial navigation and hexadirectional coding in human entorhinal cortex.

Lea Duong Phan Thanh joins the Blanke Lab as researcher assistant

Published:22.03.22 — Lea will work on hallucination engineering and neuropsychology

Sara Stampacchia joins the Blanke Lab as postdoctoral researcher

Published:22.03.22 — Sara will work on the brain mechanisms of hallucinations in neurodegenerative disorders using neuroimaging and neurorobotics.