Wolf-Julian Neumann

Arm dominance emerges through asymmetric practice of complex trajectory shapes inherent to tool-use https://www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1101/2025.10.08.680998v1

Better neural decoding using connectomics and emotional states? Check out @julianneumann.bsky.social newest study in Nature Biomed. Eng!

#neuroskyence #bci #compneurosky

🔥🔥🔥Glad to see this finally out – huge congratulations to @timonmerk.bsky.social & @julianneumann.bsky.social & team!!

Looks amazing! Congratulations!

a cartoon of tweety and jerry saying they are a team . ALT: a cartoon of tweety and jerry saying they are a team .

This has been a huge collaborative effort across Berlin, Boston and Beijing. I am truly grateful for the fantastic team spirit that has allowed us to develop this platform together.

From adaptive deep brain stimulation to adaptive circuit targeting - Nature Reviews Neurology Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a highly effective treatment option for movement disorders and is also being explored for other brain disorders. This Perspective proposes a unified framework, termed adaptive circuit targeting, which combines adaptive and connectomic DBS to enable decoding of symptom severity from brain signals and activation of relevant symptom-response circuits.

The bigger picture: AI + connectomics are reshaping neurotechnology. Have a look at our recent perspective in Nature Reviews Neurology www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Inspired by @andreashorn.org, the core is connectomics-informed decoding: each electrode contact is mapped to a “fingerprint” of whole-brain connectivity, which predicts decoding performance. This enables out-of-cohort generalization without patient-specific training. is the innovator.

For epilepsy, we optimized seizure detection using AI-guided parameter discovery. Connectomics revealed a distributed seizure network (hippocampus, cingulate, occipital cortex), enabling more accurate, personalized detection. Our parameters were constrained to device capabilities.

In depression, we decoded emotional states from the subgenual cingulate. Better decoding correlated with clinical outcomes after DBS, and network maps aligned with known TMS targets. A link between invasive decoding and non-invasive therapy for the next-generation of AI inspired neuromodulation.

For movement disorders, connectomics-informed decoders generalized across Parkinson’s and epilepsy patients. Plug-and-play decoding without per-patient calibration triggered adaptive DBS in a newly recruited patient. #cebra outperformed other decoder architectures.

Traditional brain–computer interfaces (BCIs) often need individual retraining for every patient. Our approach shows that generalizable decoders can work across cohorts in Europe, the US, and China—sometimes even outperforming individual models. The platform translates offline data to real-time.

Invasive neurophysiology and whole brain connectomics for neural decoding in patients with brain implants - Nature Biomedical Engineering A modularized open-source pipeline for invasive brain signal decoding bridges the gap between closed-loop neuromodulation and clinical brain–computer interface approaches in a large patient cohort.

New paper in Nature Biomedical Engineering by @timonmerk.bsky.social !

We built a platform that unites AI-based brain signal decoding with connectomics across 123 hours of recordings from 73 patients. A step toward adaptive, network-level neurotechnology.

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

Fentanyl is 100x stronger than morphine and it's reshaping the public health landscape.

In a new #LabNotes episode, dive into the neuroscience of addiction and the human stories behind the crisis: alleninstitute.org/news/lab-not...

Feat. researchers Christian Luscher and Seattle's Recovery Cafe.

Something exciting just left the gym -- meet Arnold the first generalist musculoskeletal control policy!

The human body has 600+ muscles, yet we seamlessly coordinate them for everything from whispering a syllable to felling a forrest. How? www.arxiv.org/abs/2508.18066

I might be biased, but I think this is one of the most exciting developments in generalized musculoskeletal control in years ⬇️. Congrats to the team (I’m not involved!) 💪🔥

Can connectomic DBS go beyond where to stimulate to inform who and when? Great discussion @dbsthinktank.bsky.social with @rolstonjohn.bsky.social @julianneumann.bsky.social suggest yes! @braincircuits.bsky.social

What might the future of deep brain stimulation look like?

Not just continuous stimulation, but decoding symptoms in real time and directing stimulation to the right brain circuits.

Fascinating perspective article by @andreashorn.org & @julianneumann.bsky.social in @natrevneurol.nature.com:

In #DeepBrainStimulation

the two major developments across the last decade have been

1. Adaptive DBS and
2. Connectomic DBS

In a @natrevneurol.nature.com article with @julianneumann.bsky.social, we ask:

Could the two be united into a common framework?

www.nature.com/articles/s41...

A 🧵

Somato‐Cognitive Action Network in Focal Dystonia Background The central pathology causing idiopathic focal dystonia remains unclear. The recently identified somato-cognitive action network (SCAN) has been implicated. Objective We tested whether ...

🚨 New paper alert!
Excited to share our latest work in Movement Disorders:
“Somato-Cognitive Action Network in Focal Dystonia”
👉 doi.org/10.1002/mds....

We found asynchrony between SCAN and cerebellum in different dystonia subtypes. Thread below.
#dystonia #fMRI #PrecisionFunctionalMapping #neuro

🚨 New preprint out! 🚨
“Translating the Transcriptome: A Connectomics Approach for Gene-Network Mapping and Clinical Application”
🔗 doi.org/10.1101/2025... 

🧵 A short thread:

So great to meet up with the talented @julianneumann.bsky.social today! His work on merging neuro, AI, and clinical applications is very exciting. He was the first to use and extend #CEBRA for human experiments 🚀🧠 #neuroskynce

Starstruck to be in the presence of one of the most disruptive and inspiring AI and neuroscientists. I loved the recent Cell cover story by Mackenzie on decoding the brain, check it out of you haven't: www.cell.com/cell/fulltex...

When location is everything: Why does brain ‘real estate’ determine the success of focused ultrasound (FUS) and DBS? Ever notice how the difference between success and struggle in FUS and DBS may come down to just a few millimeters? Precise placement is common to be THE deciding factor in outcome.

Is it time to standardize preoperative imaging for deep brain stimulation?
Christoph Guettler & Anna Tietze say yes in @imagingneurosci.bsky.social – a thread 🧵

direct.mit.edu/imag/article...

Reduced function or injury to the frontal pole may increase creativity by disengaging the self-monitoring & cognitive control actions of the frontal pole to allow novelty seeking & creativity to be unleashed. @braincircuits.bsky.social @foxmdphd.bsky.social @julianneumann.bsky.social

Probably the most insightful and most important paper on physiomarkers of subthalamic DBS in a long while. Bravo @julianneumann.bsky.social @tsbinns.com and team!!

Out at @natcomms.nature.com:
www.nature.com/articles/s41...

🗓 Date: Thursday, March 13, 2025
🕝 Time: 13:30 - 14:15 CET
📍 Location: H8-1-D, EPFL & Online via Zoom
🔗 Zoom link: epfl.zoom.us/j/6219774593...

Super honored to be invited by Stephanie Lacour to speak at
@neuroxepfl.bsky.social on "Deep Brain Stimulation as a Therapeutic Brain-Computer Interface: From Disease Signatures to AI-Driven Neural Circuit Prosthetics" this Thursday. Open on Zoom, too! Info here: memento.epfl.ch/event/neuro-...

Ever wondered how well your Lead-DBS electrode localizations compare to expert solutions on the same data? Now, with Lead-Tutor, you can self-assess!

Olaf Blanke and I are pleased to announce the opening of a funded PhD position in cognitive and contemplative neuroscience at the Lyon Neuroscience Research Center entitled "Neurophenomenological Study of Non-Dual Mindfulness Meditation and Its Impact on Self and Agency" Thanks for sharing this ad!