Danziger, Zachary - Florida International University - Department of Biomedical Engineering

个人简介

I am Zachary Danziger, a research scientist in biomedical engineering. My focus is in developing devices that interface with the human nervous system, studying how the nervous system learns to use or adapts to these devices, and programming or engineering such devices to maximize their efficiency and benefit to the user. I am currently an Assistant Professor at Florida International University, studying neural control of the lower urinary tract and brain-computer interfaces.

研究领域

Neural interfaces are essentially engineered devices that directly link the nervous system to the outside world. Therefore, neural interfaces bypass the body, which is the normal intermediary connecting the nervous system and the world; for example, to speak your nerves must first activate your mouth and throat, and to hear sound waves must first enter your ear before being transduced by nerves into impulses that the brain interprets as sound. In the first example signals go from nerves to the body to effect the world (speech), and in the second the world goes to the body to affect the nervous system (hearing). Similarly, neural interfaces can operate in both directions. Some neural interfaces record from the brain and use those recordings to operate assistive devices in the world, and are often called brain-computer interfaces. The clinical potential of these devices are very important because they allow severely paralyzed individuals to control power wheelchairs, personal computers, spelling devices, prosthetic limbs, or other assistive devices directly with their brain, circumventing their paralyzed muscles. My research in this area focuses on designing and optimizing computer systems to translate the recorded brain activity into commands for assistive devices, and understanding how individuals learn to use these devices and how to improve their proficiency. Other neural interfaces use computers outside the body to deliver information (typically in the form of electrical stimulation) to the nervous system, a process often called neuromodulation. Another branch of my research focuses on electrically stimulating nerves in the urinary tract to restore an individual’s ability to remain continent and void efficiently in cases where these functions may have been lost due to disease or injury. My work investigates how nerves organize the reflexes responsible for controlling normal bladder voiding and continence, and how to exploit that neurophysiology to deliver therapeutic neural stimulation to restore function in the urinary tract.

近期论文

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Danziger Z, “A reductionist approach to the analysis of learning in brain-computer interfaces.” Biological Cybernetics, 108(2) 183-201, 2014 Danziger Z, Mussa‐Ivaldi F, “The influence of visual motion on motor learning.” J. Neuroscience, 32(29) 9859-9869, 2012 Mussa-Ivaldi F, Danziger Z, “The remapping of space in motor learning and human-machine interfaces.” J. Phys. – Paris, 103(3-5) 263-275, 2009 Casadio M, Pressman A, Fishbach A, Danziger Z, Acosta S, Chen D, Tseng HY, Mussa-Ivaldi FA, “Functional reorganization of upper body movement after spinal cord injury.” Exp. Brain Res., 207(3-4): 233-247, 2010 Casadio M, Pressman A, Danziger Z, Tseng HY, Fishbach A, Mussa-Ivaldi F, “Functional reorganization of upper-body movements for wheelchair control.” IEEE EMBC, Minneapolis MN, 2009 Mussa-Ivaldi F, Danziger Z, “The remapping of space in motor learning and human-machine interfaces.” J. Phys. – Paris, 103(3-5) 263-275, 2009 Danziger Z, Fishbach A, Mussa-Ivaldi F, “Learning algorithms for human-machine interfaces.” IEEE Trans. Biomed. Eng., 56(5) 1502-1511, 2009 Danziger Z, Fishbach A, Mussa-Ivaldi F, “Adapting Human-Machine Interfaces to User Performance,” IEEE EMBC, Vancouver British Columbia, Canada, 2008