Newcastle University

Research Interests

Movement neuroscience, neurotechnology, neural prosthetics, Brain-Machine Interfaces

Current Work

A neural prosthesis to restore hand function following spinal cord injury and stroke - We are developing implantable electronic devices and surgical techniques for delivering electrical stimulation to the spinal cord, controlled in real-time from neural signals recorded in the brain.

Investigating mechanisms of learning and plasticity during operation of myoelectric-controlled interfaces and brain-machine interfaces - We use tasks requiring subjects to control computer cursors directly from electrophysiological signals in order to understand the brain mechanisms that underlie learning of abstract neuromotor mappings.

Postgraduate Supervision

Harbaljit Sohal

Claire Schofield

Thomas Hall

Jennifer Tulip 

Funding

Wellcome Trust Research Career Development Fellowship "Closed-Loop Neurostimulation of the Motor System"

EPSRC Project Grant "Ultra Low Power Implantable Platform for Next Generation Neural Interfaces"

NC3Rs Pilot Study "A fully-automated system for positive reinforcement training of group-housed non-human primates" 

The Leverhulme Trust "Advanced Imaging and Optimization Techniques for Co-adaptive Controlled Myoelectric Prosthetics"

• Nazarpour K, Al-Timemy AH, Bugmann G, Jackson A. A note on the probability distribution function of the surface electromyogram signal. Brain Research Bulletin 2013, 90, 88-91.
• Nazarpour K, Barnard A, Jackson A. Flexible cortical control of task-specific muscle synergies. Journal of Neuroscience 2012, 32(36), 12349-12360.
• Jackson A, Nazarpour K. Motor learning explored with myoelectric and neural interfaces. In: Gollhofer, A., Taube, W., Nielsen, J.B, ed. Routledge Handbook of Motor Control and Motor Learning. Routledge, 2012, pp.71-89.
• Jackson A, Zimmermann JB. Neural interfaces for the brain and spinal cord-restoring motor function. Nature Reviews Neurology 2012, 8(12), 690-699.
• Jackson A. Neuroscience: Brain-controlled robot grabs attention. Nature 2012, 485(7398), 317-318.
• Jackson A, Fetz EE. Interfacing With the Computational Brain. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering 2011, 19(5), 534-541.
• Zimmermann JB, Seki K, Jackson A. Reanimating the arm and hand with intraspinal microstimulation. Journal of Neural Engineering 2011, 8(5), 054001.
• Radhakrishnan SM, Baker SN, Jackson A. Learning a novel myoelectric-controlled interface task. Journal of Neurophysiology 2008, 100(4), 2397-2408.
• Jackson A, Fetz EE. Compact movable microwire array for long-term chronic unit recording in cerebral cortex of primates. Journal of Neurophysiology 2007, 98(5), 3109-3118.
• Jackson A, Mavoori J, Fetz EE. Correlations Between the Same Motor Cortex Cells and Arm Muscles During a Trained Task, Free Behavior, and Natural Sleep in the Macaque Monkey. Journal of Neurophysiology 2007, 97(1), 360-374.
• Jackson A, Mavoori J, Fetz EE. Long-term motor cortex plasticity induced by an electronic neural implant. Nature 2006, 444(7115), 56-60.
• Jackson A, Moritz CT, Mavoori J, Lucas TH, Fetz EE. The Neurochip BCI: Towards a neural prosthesis for upper limb function. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering 2006, 14(2), 187-190.
• Mavoori J, Jackson A, Diorio C, Fetz EE. An autonomous implantable computer for neural recording and stimulation in unrestrained primates. Journal of Neuroscience Methods 2005, 148(1), 71-77.
• Jackson A, Gee VJ, Baker SN, Lemon RN. Synchrony between Neurons with Similar Muscle Fields in Monkey Motor Cortex. Neuron 2003, 38(1), 115-125.
• Jackson A, Spinks RL, Freeman TCB, Wolpert DM, Lemon RN. Rhythm generation in monkey motor cortex explored using pyramidal tract stimulation. Journal of Physiology 2002, 541(3), 685-699.
• Burgess N, Jackson A, Hartley T, O'Keefe J. Predictions derived from modelling the hippocampal role in navigation. Biological Cybernetics 2000, 83(3), 301-312.