Center for Neuroprosthetics

Breathing may change your mind about free will

Published:06.02.20 — Is free will just an illusion? For decades, a signal from the brain called the “readiness potential” has been interpreted to mean that free will may be an illusion. Backed by signals from the brain and lungs, EPFL scientists have discovered that the readiness potential is in fact coupled to breathing and that acts of free will happen as you exhale – providing an unexpected perspective on free will.

Four EPFL Engineering Professors recognized as IEEE Fellows 2020

Published:06.12.19 — Four professors from the School of Engineering (STI) have earned the prestigious title of 2020 IEEE Fellows. IEEE is the world's largest technical professional organization dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity. IEEE Fellow is a distinction reserved for select IEEE members whose extraordinary accomplishments in any of the IEEE fields of interest are deemed fitting of this prestigious grade elevation.

NeuroRestore Center: aimed at restoring lost neurological function

Published:05.12.19 — The Defitech Foundation has teamed up with EPFL, CHUV and UNIL to widen access to the groundbreaking neurotechnology developed under the 2018 STIMO study, which allowed paraplegic patients to walk again. Their aim is also to develop new neurosurgical treatments for people suffering from Parkinson’s disease or from neurological disorders following a head injury or stroke.

Daniela Zöller receives the EDEE best Doctoral Thesis Award

Published:19.11.19 — Daniela Zöller, guest PhD student at the Medical Image Processing Laboratory, received the EDEE best Doctoral Thesis Award in Electrical Engineering, for her thesis ”Dynamic Organization of Human Brain Function and its Relevance for Psychosis Vulnerability”.

Unraveling whole-brain activity from light-sheet microscopy recording

Published:31.10.19 — Researchers from MIPLAB (Prof. Dimitri Van De Ville) have developed a new approach to deconvolute signals generated by calcium indicators in whole-brain light-sheet microscopy of Zebrafish larvae. The methodology overcomes current limitations in terms of temporal resolution and signal-to-noise ratio, which allowed them to retrieve neural activation that matches the locomotor behavior of the Zebrafish larvae.