Plasticity Lab

Plasticity Lab

@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

We’re the Plasticity Lab at Cambridge University, led by Tamar Makin. We study the neural basis of hand function and dysfunction, exploring how technology can enhance movement functionality for able and disabled individuals of all ages: plasticity-lab.com

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

We're looking for a motivated intern to join us this summer! Find the details below for this exciting opportunity to work on developing a neurotech podcast 🧠 🦾 Deadline is Monday 15th June (11:00am BST), so apply soon!

Plasticity Lab@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Applications Open! We are looking for a motivated summer intern to support a podcast in development in collaboration with the Plasticity Lab, exploring what restorative, assistive, and augmentative neurotechnology reveals about hidden human capacity 🦾 Full details here: forms.office.com/e/PDjanEYkSE

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Finally, despite broad skill transfer, when Third Thumb use was optional in a set of naturalistic tasks, participants preferred their hand over the device. This suggests that real-world adoption of these technologies will depend on more than skill transfer, cognitive effort, or embodiment.

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

This study was a collaborative and interdisciplinary effort, bridging cognitive neuroscience and robotics. We’d like to thank all the researchers and the participants who made this work possible! Thanks for reading 🙏 Full text here: www.cell.com/current-biol...

cell.comBroad skill generalization with an extra robotic body partMolina-Sanchez et al. show that after 7 days of training with an extra robotic digit, motor skill generalizes across tasks, body postures, and body parts used to wear or control the device. Training r...
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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

We also found that training improved participants’ sense of agency over the Third Thumb. The greater their motor gains after training, the stronger their sense of agency over the device❗

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Next, we tested two new Third Thumb–body mappings: 1) the Third Thumb was controlled by the heels instead of the toes; 2) it was worn on the left hand instead of the right. Motor skill still transferred, suggesting learning isn’t tied to specific sensorimotor body mappings‼️

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

If Third Thumb skill isn’t tied to low-level body mappings, it may draw on cognitive mechanisms and be sensitive to increased cognitive load. Third Thumb performance dropped slightly while simultaneously doing a math task — but training reduced the cognitive effort required to use the device❗

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

First, we trained participants intensively with the Third Thumb for 7 days across a range of motor tasks. Despite most training happening at home with minimal supervision, participants improved in every task.

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

If learning is tied to a specific body mapping (i.e., a particular limb wearing/controlling the device), motor skill may not transfer well when the mapping/context changes. If learning relies on body-independent, abstract representations, it may be more flexible but may increase cognitive demands.

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

We tested whether motor skill with an extra robotic thumb (the Third Thumb), worn on the right hand and controlled by the toes, transfers beyond the tasks and conditions participants trained on.

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Wearable robotic limbs for body augmentation could transform how we interact with the world — but their everyday use will depend on whether learned motor skills transfer beyond training contexts.

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Our lab has been lucky to know and work with Kirsty Mason for many years - she’s an incredible woman whose strength and openness have taught us so much about recovery and resilience 💛 If you can, please check out her GoFundMe and show some support! gofund.me/0283e864d

gofund.meDonate to From Trauma to Triumph: My 18-Year Life Day Journey, organized by Kirsty Mason❤️‍ When Everything Changed As I type this, on the 7th November 2… Kirsty Mason needs your support for From Trauma to Triumph: My 18-Year Life Day Journey
Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Super pleased to see this heroic effort finally in print!! Many thanks to Hunter, our amazing study participants, and everyone else who made this fantastic study come true.

Hunter Schone@hunterschone.bsky.social

Now out in @natneuro.nature.com What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed? Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7 🧵1/18

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Awesome to see our own @daniclode.bsky.social featured as a highlight of the UN #AIforGood Summit! Check out the summary of her talk—plus other key discussions on how AI can restore agency, enhance accessibility, and foster deeper human connection: www.linkedin.com/posts/ai-for...

linkedin.comLIVE from the #AIforGood Global Summit! | AI for GoodLIVE from the #AIforGood Global Summit! What was just covered at Frontier Stage? AI for restoring agency, enhancing accessibility, and empowering deeper human connection. Here’s a summary of the sess...
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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

So, what does this tell us? EMG control may be harder initially, but it offers a richer signal and better transfer of learning. With optimised hardware and software, it could be a powerful interface for future augmentation device control. 11/12

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Using predictive modelling, we found the force control signal could predict performance, whilst the processed EMG control signal could not predict EMG performance. But importantly, the raw EMG signal could act as a predictor. This suggests pre-processing might discard important information. 9/12

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

And how do users perceive the Thumb? Participants reported a strong sense of agency (control over the Thumb) but no body ownership (it didn’t feel like part of the body). All categories of embodiment were rated similarly for both EMG and FS. 10/12

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

But we also saw that the control method participants started with impacted learning transfer to their second control method. Beginning with EMG control led to superior transfer when switching to force control – suggesting muscle control is a better tutor for generalisable learning. 7/12

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

To provide a mechanistic insight into this generalisation, we cross-correlated the toe-movement signal and muscle signal, and observed a high correlation during EMG control, suggesting participants are expressing force-related toe movements while using the EMG control, contributing to learning! 8/12

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Surprisingly, an additional cognitive load during the collaboration motor task did not affect performance for either control modality. Participants also performed similarly in the cognitive load arithmetic task, regardless of control. 5/12

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

On the proportional control task completed before and after training, force control continued to demonstrate a clear advantage. However, participants showed similar learning gains across both control modalities. 6/12

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Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

EMG-based control is closer to the neural source; muscle activity precedes motion. Our initial hypothesis: EMG should enable more intuitive and efficient learning. We compared both control modalities across multiple motor tasks using a counterbalanced within-participants design. 3/12

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

The Third Thumb is designed to extend and enhance the motor abilities of an already fully functional hand. It was initially designed to be proportionally controlled by movement of the wearer’s toes via force sensors. But what if we tapped into muscle signals directly instead? 2/12

Plasticity Lab reposted

Maggie Szymanska
@maggieszymanska.bsky.social

Great start to #IMRF2025 with Symposium 2 all about body representation and some amazing talks! Really enjoyed hearing about how sounds can affect it, e.g. with the auditory pinocchio illusion 🔊, something quite different than what I work on but so fun!

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Thrilled to share our most recent work led by our brilliant PhD student @mariamolinasan.bsky.social, exploring generalisation of motor learning with a robotic limb, featuring The Third Thumb 🦾

Maria Molina-Sanchez@mariamolinasan.bsky.social

Can humans use artificial limbs for body augmentation as flexibly as their own hands? 🚨 Our new interdisciplinary study put this question to the test with the Third Thumb (@daniclode.bsky.social), a robotic extra digit you control with your toes! www.biorxiv.org/content/10.1... 🧵1/10

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Check-out our latest research! 🧠 @lucydowdall.bsky.social's PhD work looking at the sensory representation of an artificial limb is now up on bioRxiv! doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.16.658246 🦾 see her thread below highlighting some of our key findings

Lucy Dowdall@lucydowdall.bsky.social

Excited to share our new interdisciplinary work exploring the sensory representation of an artificial body part, combing datasets and methodologies to explore sensorimotor integration of the Third Thumb, a 2 DoF hand augmentation device (@daniclode.bsky.social) doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.16.658246

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Great video by @wired.com showcasing the Third Thumb! 👍👍👍We're super grateful to be able to work with the amazing Dani Clode and investigate how our brains 🧠 accomodate motor control of an extra robotic finger! The segment on the Third Thumb starts at 6:02 - you can watch here: rb.gy/t8gdhs

rb.gy6 Arms, 3 Thumbs: I Tested The Future of Robotic Limbs | Superhuman | WIREDEnjoy the videos and music you love, upload original content, and share it all with friends, family, and the world on YouTube.
Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Applications close tomorrow for our summer internship position! plasticity-lab.com/internship

Plasticity Lab@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Applications are open for the Plasticity Lab summer internship at the University of Cambridge @mrccbu.bsky.social 🦾 Work with an interdisciplinary team on motor augmentation and wearable tech, exploring enhancement of movement capabilities 🧠 Apply by April 15th: plasticity-lab.com/internship

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Applications are open for the Plasticity Lab summer internship at the University of Cambridge @mrccbu.bsky.social 🦾 Work with an interdisciplinary team on motor augmentation and wearable tech, exploring enhancement of movement capabilities 🧠 Apply by April 15th: plasticity-lab.com/internship

Plasticity Lab reposted

Claudia Clopath Lab
@clopathlab.bsky.social

Want to hear more about how feedback can guide learning in RNNs for motor adaptation. Here is our new paper in Nat. Com. with Barbara Feulner and @juangallego.bsky.social www.nature.com/articles/s41...

nature.comA neural implementation model of feedback-based motor learning - Nature CommunicationsHow the brain adapts our movements to new conditions remains unclear. Here, the authors show that a recurrent neural network that controls its output using error-based feedback can learn to count...
Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

We truly believe neurotechnology developments should be shaped by the end-users, not just the researchers! But how can we ensure ground-breaking developments are guided by the people whose lives they will impact the most? Read more here: rb.gy/7zjf6e

rb.gyNeurotechnology developments shaped by researchers and end-usersNeurotechnology refers to a broad range of technologies designed to interface with the nervous system, with the aim of treating neurological disorders, enhancing cognitive function, and improving over...
Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Our website contains even more information and curated resources to help support researchers in the aim of taking a more user-centered approach towards neurotechnology, in addition to details for how to get involved in this initiative www.inclusive-neurotech.co.uk

Plasticity Lab@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Neurotech is rapidly evolving, but user-centred technologies can only succeed if their development actively involves the end user. We’ve published a basic roadmap for supporting inclusive design testing - highlighting key strategies, stakeholders, representation, and measurable outcomes rb.gy/ng1jus

Plasticity Lab
@plasticity-lab.bsky.social

Neurotech is rapidly evolving, but user-centred technologies can only succeed if their development actively involves the end user. We’ve published a basic roadmap for supporting inclusive design testing - highlighting key strategies, stakeholders, representation, and measurable outcomes rb.gy/ng1jus