SeeMe: A multimodal behavioral-electrophysiological tool for real-time detection of consciousness

SeeMe: A multimodal behavioral-electrophysiological tool for real-time detection of motor behavior in brain injury patients Abstract An obstacle in clinical and basic science consciousness research is the lack of quantitative techniques to assess the recovery of voluntary behavior. Standard techniques for consciousness detection depend on subjective assessment of voluntary behavior. These methods are slow, observer-dependent, and lack the temporal resolution to study brain circuits supporting consciousness. In Phase R61 of this proposal, SeeMe, a novel, objective, real-time tool, will be developed to detect voluntary behavior. This multi-modal tool is based on the measurement of face and hand movements to command in recovering traumatic brain injury (TBI) patients who may appear unresponsive. SeeMe detects early signs of low-amplitude voluntary behavior currently unseen by clinical examiners. These detected movements will be linked with neural recordings to interrogate underlying circuits supporting voluntary behavior. This tool will be made freely available to researchers interested in consciousness and more generally studying brain-behavior relationships. Phase R33 will use SeeMe to time- lock vagus nerve stimulation to voluntary behavior in recovering TBI patients, analogous to its FDA-approved use in stroke. This framework will be used to study the neural correlates of voluntary behavior in TBI patients. When complete, this project will deliver 1.) a novel objective tool for analyzing voluntary behavior, 2.) a computational framework for synchronizing behavior with brain activity, and 3.) a closed-loop stimulation system to develop future neuromodulatory therapeutic approaches to facilitate the return of motor behavior after injury. Project Number: 1R61MH138612-01 | Fiscal Year: 2026 | NIH Institute/Center: National Institute of Mental Health (NIMH) | Principal Investigator: Sima Mofakham (+2 co-PIs) | Institution: STATE UNIVERSITY NEW YORK STONY BROOK, STONY BROOK, NY | Award Amount: $466,843 | Activity Code: R61 | Study Section: Special Emphasis Panel[ZMH1 ERB-E (07)] View on NIH RePORTER: https://reporter.nih.gov/project-details/11036035