Conference: Workshop on Breakthrough Research in Intracortical Dynamics and Galvanizing Exploration of Sensorimotor Technology through Integrating Multi-species Data

The brain works through electrical signals that move between brain cells. Doctors can also send small electrical pulses into the brain to help it recover lost function. This method is called intracortical microstimulation, or ICMS. ICMS can help restore touch in people who are paralyzed and may help restore sight in people who have lost vision. It is now being tested in a growing number of patients who use brain-computer interface (BCI) devices. Yet, it is not well understood why the same ICMS settings have different results in different people, or in animals compared to humans. This knowledge gap has slowed progress in BCI devices and has added variability in research results from one laboratory to another. This award will provide partial support for BRIDGE-STIM 2027, a workshop that will enable discussions among scientists and researchers to close this gap. BRIDGE-STIM stands for Breakthrough Research in Intracortical Dynamics and Galvanizing Exploration of Sensorimotor Technology through Integrating Multi-species Data. The meeting will bring together 200 scientists, doctors, engineers, and trainees and allow these teams to compare ICMS results across mice, monkeys, and human BCI users. The teams will build a public dataset of their findings and draft a plan to address current challenges in the field and future directions. Many attendees will be students, postdocs, and other early-career scientists, and the workshop has planned professional development opportunities for them. Trainees will present their work, interact with senior researchers, and participate in small group discussions led by experts. A hands-on artificial intelligence (AI) clinic will also teach trainees how to use new AI tools that predict how brain circuits respond to stimulation. All talks, data, and the final report of this workshop will be disseminated publicly online. BRIDGE-STIM 2027 will be a three-day workshop (May 17-19, 2027, University of Pittsburgh) advancing mechanistic understanding of ICMS as a causal probe of cortical circuit function across rodents, nonhuman primates, and humans. Building on the 2025 pilot, the program will convene experimental, computational, and clinical investigators to link stimulation parameters, latent circuit state, and perceptual outcomes through laminar electrophysiology, two-photon imaging, behavioral psychophysics, and predictive modeling. Five plenary sessions, two poster sessions, breakout sessions, and a hands-on AI computational clinic will have three aims: (1) identify cross-species principles linking stimulation parameters and circuit state to perceptual and behavioral outcomes; (2) establish reproducibility standards through a minimum reporting template (electrode geometry, waveform, cortical localization, readout); and (3) synthesize workshop data into durable products including a cross-species reference database, a comparative review with testable predictions, and a multi-site research roadmap. Deliverables within six months will reside at stim.bioniclab.org under permissive licensing, with a peer-reviewed Perspective. Outcomes will be tracked through surveys quantifying skill acquisition, collaboration formation, resource adoption, and trainee integration into cross-species ICMS research. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria. NSF Award ID: 2624028 | Program: 01002627DB NSF RESEARCH & RELATED ACTIVIT | Principal Investigator: Takashi Kozai | Institution: University of Pittsburgh, PITTSBURGH, PA | Award Amount: $20,000 View on NSF Award Search: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/show-award/?AWD_ID=2624028 View on Research.gov: https://www.research.gov/awardapi-service/v1/awards/2624028.html