News Finding: Because the existing brain patterns likely reflect how the neurons are interconnected, the results suggest that the connectivity among neurons shapes learning.
Paper Finding: To regain proficient control of the cursor under a within-manifold perturbation, the animals had to learn new associations between the natural co-modulation patterns and the cursor kinematics (Fig.
News Context: The harder-to-learn patterns were different from any of the pre-existing patterns, whereas the easier-to-learn patterns were combinations of pre-existing brain patterns. Because the existing brain patterns likely reflect how the neurons are interconnected, the results suggest that the connectivity among neurons shapes learning. Byron M. Yu, assistant professor of electrical and computer engineering and biomedical engineering at Carnegie Mellon, believes this work demonstrates the utility of BCI for basic scientific studies that will eventually impact people's lives.
Paper Context: In both cases, performance was impaired once the new mapping was introduced, and we observed whether the monkeys could learn to regain proficient control of the cursor. To regain proficient control of the cursor under a within-manifold perturbation, the animals had to learn new associations between the natural co-modulation patterns and the cursor kinematics (Fig. Just after the perturbed mappings were introduced, BCI performance was impaired ( Fig.