Embodied-Brain Systems Science and Neurorehabilitation

Abstract:          

There are increasing patients who are suffered by brain and peripheral nerve disorders, resulting in sensorimotor dysfunctions. However, conventional rehabilitation methods, like physical training and pain therapy, are not effective for some of the patients. We hypothesize that it is possible to establish new effective neurorehabilitation methods for those patients by combining brain science, engineering and rehabilitation medicine. For that purpose, an interdisciplinary research project has been started, which is named “Understanding brain plasticity on body representations to promote their adaptive functions (embodied-brain systems science).” The project is funded as a grant-in-aid for scientific research on innovative areas (FY2014-2018, PI: Prof. Ota) by MEXT, Japan. In the project, we aim to understand how body representations in the brain are altered in some patients, and by which methods they can be adjusted effectively to recover normal functions. We are especially focusing bodily self-consciousness (senses of body ownership and agency) and muscle synergies, which should be influenced by the body representations. The target patients could have both neurological and psychiatric disorders. Members of the program, who are professionals in different fields, are collaborating to achieve the research goals, by combining theoretical, biological and clinical studies. In the workshop, some of the members will present recent results from the collaborations, including what have been achieved and what are remained to be solved. We also invite some non-member speakers, who are approaching related problems. We will discuss what can be made by using embodied-brain systems science in the future.

List of Speakers (tentative)

Jun Ota, The Tokyo University, ota@race.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Title of Presentation: Concept of embodied-brain systems science
Bio:  Prof. Jun Ota He received B.E., M.E. and Ph.D degrees from the Faculty of Engineering, the University of Tokyo in 1987, 1989 and 1994 respectively. From 2009, he became a Professor at Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering (RACE), the University of Tokyo. His research interests are multi-agent robot systems, embodied-brain systems science, design support for large-scale production/material handling systems, human behavior analysis and support.

Tetsunari Inamura, National Institute of Informatics, Japan, inamura@nii.ac.jp
Title of Presentation: Effect of flexible change of VR based self-body appearance for body representation in the brain
Bio: He received BE, MS and PhD at the University of Tokyo in 1995, 1997 and 2000. He engaged in a JST CREST research program from 2000 to 2003 at the University of Tokyo as pos-doc researcher, and then joined the Department of Mechano-Informatics at the University of Tokyo as a Lecturer from 2003 to 2006. He is an Associate Professor in the National Institute of Informatics.

Yutaka Oouchida, Tohoku University, oouchida@med.tohoku.ac.jp
Title of Presentation:  Decline of bodily attention to a paretic limb in the stroke patients with hemiparesis
Bio: Dr. Yutaka Oouchida received Ph.D from Kyoto University in 2006. From 2006 to 2007 he was in Advanced Telecommunication Research Institute (ATR). From 2008, he is an assistant professor in department of Physical Medicine and Rehabilitation, Tohoku University.

Shiro Yano, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT), syano@cc.tuat.ac.jp
Title of Presentation: Proposal of a Bayesian learning paradigm for the sense of agency
Bio:  Dr. Shiro Yano received B.S. in Physics from Kyoto University in 2007. He received Master of Engineering in precision  Engineering from The University of Tokyo in 2009. In 2012, he received Ph.D. in precision Engineering from The University of Tokyo. From 2012 to 2014, he joined Ritsumeikan University as a senior researcher in the field of decentralized system engineering and Smart Grid System. He is currently an assistant Professor at the Department of Computer and Information Science, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology. The research interests include mathematical modeling of sense of agency, decentralized system control, and nonlinear dynamical systems.

Kazumichi Matsumiya, Tohoku University, kmat@riec.tohoku.ac.jp
Title of Presentation: Voluntary action and the coding of visual space
Bio:  Dr. Kazumichi Matsumiya received Ph.D. degree from Tokyo Institute of Technology in 2000. Then, he was a postdoctoral researcher at York University in Canada until December, 2001. From January, 2002 to December, 2003, he was a postdoctoral researcher at Tokyo Institute of Technology. From January, 2004 to March, 2005, he was a research fellow at ATR in Kyoto. Then, he moved to the Research Institute of Electrical Communication, Tohoku University as an assistant professor in April, 2005. From 2014, he works as an associate professor at the same institute.

Nicolas Schweighofer, University of Southern CaliforniaPhysical Therapy and Biokinesiology
Title of Presentation: Arm choice post-stroke: computational models and experiments.
Bio:  Nicolas Schweighofer received a PhD in Neuroscience and a MS in Control Systems and Mechanical engineering. He is an Associate Professor in the Department of Biokinesiology and Physical Therapy, and holds joint appointments in Computer Science, Biomedical Engineering, Biomedical Engineering, and Neuroscience. In his lab, the Computational Neuro-Rehabilitation Laboratory, he aims at understanding and enhancing motor learning, especially after stroke. Specifically, the research focuses on two main topics:

  1. Computational models of motor learning and neural plasticity in healthy and lesioned brains
  2. Optimization of learning via adaptive practice schedules in healthy and stroke subjects

Hiroshi Imamizu, The University of Tokyo, imamizu@l.u-tokyo.ac.jp
Title of Presentation: Change in brain activity during motor learning
Bio:  He received a Ph.D. (Experimental Psychology, 1995) and MS (Experimental Psychology, 1989) both from the University of Tokyo. Since 1992, he has been worked in Advanced Telecommunication Research Institute (ATR) in Kyoto as a researcher, a senior researcher, a department head, and a director. In 2015, he became a professor at Graduate School of Humanities and Sociology, the University of Tokyo.

Arito Yozu, The Tokyo University, yodu-jscn@umin.net
Title of Presentation: Proposal of a new rehabilitation method for congenital insensitivity to pain
Bio: Dr. Arito Yozu received B.S. in Medicine (M.D.) from University of Tsukuba. He received Ph.D. in Medicine from The University of Tokyo. Dr. Arito Yozu is certified as specialists of the Japanese rehabilitation society and Japanese pediatric society.

Max Ortiz-Catalan, Chalmers University of Technology, maxo@chalmers.se
Title of Presentation: Motor volition and sensory feedback in artificial limbs and phantom limb pain
Bio: Dr. Max Ortiz Catalán received his Electronics Engineering degree in 2005 by the ITEMS Campus Toluca, Mexico. He spent one year of his engineering formation at the Université de Technologie de Compiègne, France. He worked 2 years in the manufacturing industry before joining the M.Sc. program in Complex Adaptive System at Chalmers University of Technology (CTH), Sweden, graduating in 2009. In 2014, he obtained his PhD in Biomedical Engineering from CTH in collaboration with the Centre of Orthopaedic Osseointegration, now Center for Advanced Reconstruction of Extremities (C.A.R.E.) at Sahlgrenska University Hospital, and Integrum AB, Sweden. During his postgraduate work, he was invited researcher at the Neural Rehabilitation Engineering Lab in the Université chatolique de Louvain, Belgium, and Research Engineer at Integrum AB. He is currently Researcher at CTH in close collaboration with C.A.R.E., as well as Research Director at Integrum AB. Dr. Max Ortiz Catalan has won several academic and industrial awards such as the “European Youth Award” by the European Council; the “Young Scientist Forum Scholarship” by GöteborgBio, Sweden; and the “You Can Make a Difference Award” by one of the world’s largest transnational companies. Dr. Ortiz Catalán research interests include bioelectric signals acquisition electronics (analog and digital); signal processing and artificial intelligence algorithms for pattern recognition and control; neuromuscular interfaces; bone-anchored prostheses and osseointegration; and, virtual and augmented reality for neuromuscular rehabilitation and the treatment of phantom limb pain.

Dr. Marco Santello, Arizona State University of Technology, marco.santello@asu.edu
Title of Presentation: Sensorimotor learning and transfer of grasping and manipulation: neural mechanisms and clinical applications
Bio: Dr. Marco Santello received his PhD in Sport and Exercise Sciences in 1995 by the University of Birmingham, UK. He spent four years of postdoctoral training at the Department of Physiology (now Neuroscience) at the University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, USA. He started his tenure-track position in the Department of Kinesiology at Arizona State University in 1999, and moved to the School of Biological and Health Systems Engineering (SBHSE) in 2010. He is currently Director, Harrington Endowed Chair, and Professor of biomedical engineering. His main research interests are motor control, learning, and biomechanics of object grasping and manipulation, neural control of hand muscles, multisensory integration, applications to rehabilitation of sensorimotor function, and robotics. Dr. Santello’s research has been supported by the National Institutes of Health (NIH), the National Science Foundation (NSF), the Whitaker Foundation, the Mayo Clinic, and Google Inc. He serves as Associate Editor for Neuroscience and Biomedical Engineering and IEEE Transactions on Haptics, and has served on federal grant review panels for NIH and NSF.

Kazuhiko Seki, NCNP, seki@ncnp.go.jp
Title of Presentation: Neural adaptive mechanism for physical changes
Bio: He received Ph.D degrees from the Faculty of Medical Sciences from Tsukuba University, in 1998. From 1998 to 2001, he was an HFSP long-term fellow at University of Washington. From 2001 to 2009, he was Assistant Professor at National Institute of Physiological Sciences. From 2009, he is Director of the Department of Neurophysiology in National Institute of Neuroscience, NCNP, Japan. His main research interests are mechanism underlying neural control of body movement and movement disorder. Dr. Seki’s research has been supported by Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST), Japanese Society for the Promotion of Science (JSPS), Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and (MEXT), Japan Agency for Medical Research and Development (AMED).

Organizer I:      Toshiyuki Kondo, EMBS -Member
Bio:  Prof. Kondo received B.S., M.S., and Ph.D degrees from Nagoya University in 1995, 1997, and 1999. From 2000 to 2006, he was an Assistant Professor at Tokyo Institute of Technology. In 2006, he was an Associate Professor at Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology (TUAT). From 2014, he is a Professor at Dept. of Computer and Information Sciences, TUAT.

Organizer II:     Max Ortiz-Catalan, EMBS -Member
Bio: Dr. Ortiz-Catalan is a Researcher at the Department of Signals and Systems at Chalmers University of Technology and at the Centre for Advanced Reconstruction of Extremities (C.A.R.E.), Sahlgrenska University Hospital, both in Gothenburg, Sweden. Dr. Ortiz-Catalan is also Research Director of Integrum AB, Sweden.

Organizer III:     Yukari Ohki, IEEE –Member
Bio:  Prof. Ohki received B.H.Sc., M.S. and Ph.D. degrees from the Faculty of Medicine, the University of Tokyo in 1984, 1986, and 1990. She is a full Professor at Department of Integrative Physiology from 2012. From 1994 to 1996, she was a guest researcher at Department of Integrative Medical Biology in Umea University, Sweden.