Cullen Lab

Superior canal dehiscence syndrome induces canal-specific kinematic adaptations during locomotion - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Superior canal dehiscence syndrome induces canal-specific kinematic adaptations during locomotion

Can a tiny hole in the superior canal change the way we walk? 🧠🚶 In our new study, we show that people with unilateral SCDS exhibit distinct gait kinematics—revealing canal-specific roles in mobility and pointing to new directions for vestibular rehab www.nature.com/articles/s41...

We are pleased to welcome new grad student Nikita Lebedz! Nikita graduated from the University of Michigan with a major in BME and is interested in sensory & functional amelioration with neuroengineering. In his spare time, he loves to learn, visit museums, write poetry, and explore nature.

The Cullen and Charles Labs (Biomedical Engineering, JHU) are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to join a multi-PI collaborative project developing a cerebellar neuroprosthesis to restore gait, tremor, and balance in cerebellar disorders. For details, see: thecullenlab.org/opportunities/

Big round of applause to our undergraduate summer researchers, Logan and Nelly, who presented their projects at the CARES Symposium last week. We're so proud of the work they both did, and wish them the best as they head back to a new school year.

Removal of stimulation artifacts in high-density Neuropixels recordings using sample clock-synchronized stimulation pulses Neuropixels (NP) probes [1], [2] are high-density, integrated silicon electrodes that can simultaneously record from 384 neural channels across up to 5120 sites. These high-resolution recording device...

In a recently published correspondence, we describe the development of a hardware circuit and analysis pipeline for simple template subtraction of electrical stimulation artifacts in neural data collected using Neuropixels 1.0 high-density probes. www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S193...

Please join us in welcoming summer undergraduate students, Logan Bright and Nelly Musajeva! Logan and Nelly are participating in the Hopkins CARES program for undergraduate research experiences.

We are so happy that @akshitchhabra.bsky.social will be sticking with the Cullen Lab for his PhD! Welcome to the lab, Akshit!

Sensorimotor Transformations for Postural Control in the Vermis of the Cerebellum The cerebellar vermis plays an essential role in maintaining posture and balance by integrating sensory inputs from multiple modalities to effectively coordinate movement. By transforming convergent s...

The cerebellar vermis keeps us balanced by integrating sensory and motor signals. In this new review, Drs. Mildren and Cullen examine how the specialized functions of the anterior and posterior vermis contribute to postural control across a variety of contexts. www.jneurosci.org/content/45/2...

THREE #VOR talks today! Clinician Jenn Millar @ 2:15 digging into recent results in superior canal digisence, followed by postdoc Ruihan Wei @ 3:05 discussing VN activity in walking monkeys, and finally PhD student Skyler Thomas @ 3:25 analyzing and modeling vestibular loss’ impact on gaze control.

Big moment for graduate student @chenhaobao.bsky.social, who is giving his first conference talk at #VOR. Attendees, be sure to check out Chenhao's talk at 10:15 on a method for sorting Purkinke cell complex spikes recorded from primate vestibular cerebellum! #VestibularOrientedResearch

Research cuts imperil critical insights into the underlying causes of age-related falls Falls are the leading cause of injury-related death among seniors in the United States. Johns Hopkins researcher Kathleen Cullen studies the vestibular system in our inner ear, integral to maintaining...

Our work on balance -critical for mobility, especially as we age- links basic neuroscience to real-world clinical needs & is only possible with sustained NIH support. Federal cuts threaten research like ours, with direct impacts on fall prevention, rehab, and support of aging populations. Read more:

Lab PSA! #NCMPan25 attendees should check out @omelbrown.bsky.social‘s poster on vestibular contributions to monkey posture during support surface tilts (Tues & Weds) and postdoc Ruihan Wei’s talk re: vestibular influence on head stabilization & neck muscle activity in walking monkeys (Tues 3:30)!

Preprint alert! Mice lacking K+ subunit KV1.8 in vestibular hair cells displayed altered synaptic transmission and impaired vestibulomotor performance, indicating a vital role for these subunits during dynamic, high-frequency movement. www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1...

Vestibular patients generate more regular head movements than healthy individuals during gaze-stabilization exercises - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Vestibular patients generate more regular head movements than healthy individuals during gaze-stabilization exercises

How does vestibular loss (VL) impact the patterning of head movements? Here, we find that VL patients make more regular patterns of head movement than healthy subjects, showing that temporal characteristics of head stability give valuable insight into the impacts of VL www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Just one week left to submit poster abstracts and support applications for #NCMPan25! We can't wait to see everyone in Panama City!
ncm-society.org/2025-meeting/

Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents - Scientific Reports Scientific Reports - Instrumented swim test for quantifying motor impairment in rodents

In rodents, swim tests can readily identify vestibular deficits. Whereas these tests are traditionally described by subjective measures, we developed an instrumented test to quantitatively characterize swimming in rodent models. www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Well folks, we have jumped ship from Twitter and are here to swim in the deep Bluesky. Looking forward to making new connections and talking all things vestibular! Which brings us to our recent paper....