Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos (born 1962) is a Greek-American computational neuroscientist. He is the A. J. Carlson Professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy at the University of Chicago. He is known for his research on neural decoding for brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). This includes a 2002 demonstration of instant neural control of a computer cursor by monkeys and his role in developing the technology used in the first human clinical trials of the BrainGate system for people with paralysis. His broader research examines the neural basis of motor control and learning, focusing on patterns of neuronal activity in the motor cortex. In 2001 he co-founded Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems to advance neural prosthesis technologies.
Early life and education Born in 1962 in Boston, Massachusetts, Nicholas G. Hatsopoulos is the son of George and Daphne Hatsopoulos. He completed a B.A. in Physics cum laude at Williams College in 1984. Between 1984 and 1987 he worked as a research assistant at Harvard University. He went on to graduate studies at Brown University, earning an Sc.M. in Psychology in 1991 and a Ph.D. in Cognitive Science in 1992. He then held a postdoctoral research fellowship at the California Institute of Technology from 1992 to 1995.
Career Hatsopoulos held a postdoctoral research fellowship at Brown University from 1995 to 1998, followed by an appointment as assistant professor of research until 2001. He joined the University of Chicago faculty in 2002 as an assistant professor in the Department of Organismal Biology and Anatomy, advancing to associate professor in 2008 and to professor in 2013. He chaired the Committee on Computational Neuroscience from 2008 to 2015 and co-directed the Center for Integrative Neuroscience and Neuroengineering Research (CINNR) from 2011 to 2014. He has held associate editor positions with IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering and Frontiers in Neuroprosthetics, and has served on the editorial boards of the Journal of Neural Engineering and the Journal of Neurophysiology. He co-founded Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems in 2001 and sat on its board of directors.
Research Hatsopoulos investigates neuronal activity in the motor cortex and neighboring regions during the planning, execution, and observation of movements. His laboratory has also examined neural interface technologies with possible applications to prosthetic devices.
Motor cortex encoding Together with collaborators, Hatsopoulos has analyzed how populations of neurons in the motor cortex encode movement direction. Work from his group indicates that motor cortex neurons display activity patterns during observed movements that parallel those seen during performed movements. Laboratory studies have further shown that single neurons can represent discrete segments of movement trajectories - termed "pathlets" by the researchers. Additional research from the lab has addressed beta-range oscillatory activity in the motor cortex and its connection to movement-related information. Later projects have explored how propagating patterns of neural activity - such as changes in beta amplitude and high-gamma signals - relate to the initiation of movement and to kinematic features.
Neural interface systems Hatsopoulos has contributed to the development of neural interface systems that decode motor cortex signals to operate external devices. In experiments with monkeys, his team helped demonstrate that animals could learn to control a computer cursor through neural activity after only brief training. The company he co-founded, Cyberkinetics Neurotechnology Systems, produced technology employed in the first human clinical trials of brain-computer interfaces for people with paralysis. More recent laboratory efforts have tested the addition of artificial somatosensory feedback by means of microstimulation delivered to the somatosensory cortex.
Other contributions Hatsopoulos is co-author of the textbook MATLAB for Neuroscientists: An Introduction to Scientific Computing in MATLAB (first and second editions), written for students in neuroscience.
Awards and honors 2016: Faculty Award for Excellence in PhD Teaching and Mentoring, University of Chicago 2024: Quantrell Award for Excellence in Undergraduate Teaching, University of Chicago 2002: Brain Research Foundation Scientific Innovations Award (Seed Grant)
Bibliography
Books MATLAB for Neuroscientists: An Introduction to Scientific Computing in MATLAB (2009). ISBN 9780123745514 MATLAB for Neuroscientists: An Introduction to Scientific Computing in MATLAB, 2nd edition (2014). ISBN 9780123838377
Selected articles Serruya, M. D.; Hatsopoulos, N. G.; Paninski, L.; Fellows, M. R.; Donoghue, J. P. (2002). "Instant neural control of a movement signal". Nature. 416 (6877): 141-142. doi:10.1038/416141a Rubino, D.; Robbins, K. A.; Hatsopoulos, N. G. (2006). "Propagating waves mediate information transfer in the motor cortex". Nature Neuroscience. 9 (12): 1549-1557. doi:10.1038/nn1802 Hatsopoulos, N. G.; Donoghue, J. P. (2009). "The science of neural interface systems". Annual Review of Neuroscience. 32: 249-266. doi:10.1146/annurev.neuro.051508.135241 Balasubramanian, K.; Papadourakis, V.; Liang, W.; Takahashi, K.; Best, M. D.; Suminski, A. J.; Hatsopoulos, N. G. (2020). "Propagating motor cortical dynamics facilitate movement initiation". Neuron. 106 (3): 526-536. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2020.02.011
See also Computational neuroscience Motor cortex Brain-computer interface Neural engineering Cyberkinetics
References
External links Hatsopoulos Lab - University of Chicago Google Scholar profile