John Donoghue

About

John Donoghue is the Henry Merritt Wriston Professor of Neuroscience and Professor of Engineering at Brown University. He is recognized for pioneering work in developing brain-computer interfaces, which enable the restoration of voluntary communication and limb function in people with paralysis. His contributions to engineering and neuroscience have been acknowledged with the Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering, one of the most prestigious honors in the field. His research focuses on advancing understanding and technology related to brain-machine interfaces, aiming to improve the quality of life for individuals with neurological impairments.

Research topics

• Medicine
• Physical medicine and rehabilitation
• Internal medicine
• Surgery

Selected publications

• Neurotechnology-aided interventions for upper limb motor rehabilitation in severe chronic stroke

  Brain · 2019-06-11 · 213 citations

  reviewOpen access

  Upper limb motor deficits in severe stroke survivors often remain unresolved over extended time periods. Novel neurotechnologies have the potential to significantly support upper limb motor restoration in severely impaired stroke individuals. Here, we review recent controlled clinical studies and reviews focusing on the mechanisms of action and effectiveness of single and combined technology-aided interventions for upper limb motor rehabilitation after stroke, including robotics, muscular electr…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Spelling interface using intracortical signals in a completely locked-in patient enabled via auditory neurofeedback training

  Nature Communications · 2022-03-22 · 139 citations

  articleOpen access

  Patients with amyotrophic lateral sclerosis (ALS) can lose all muscle-based routes of communication as motor neuron degeneration progresses, and ultimately, they may be left without any means of communication. While others have evaluated communication in people with remaining muscle control, to the best of our knowledge, it is not known whether neural-based communication remains possible in a completely locked-in state. Here, we implanted two 64 microelectrode arrays in the supplementary and pri…

  PublisherOA PDFDOI

• Selective enhancement of low-gamma activity by tACS improves phonemic processing and reading accuracy in dyslexia

  PLoS Biology · 2020-09-08 · 88 citations

  articleOpen access

  The phonological deficit in dyslexia is associated with altered low-gamma oscillatory function in left auditory cortex, but a causal relationship between oscillatory function and phonemic processing has never been established. After confirming a deficit at 30 Hz with electroencephalography (EEG), we applied 20 minutes of transcranial alternating current stimulation (tACS) to transiently restore this activity in adults with dyslexia. The intervention significantly improved phonological processing…

  PublisherDOI

• Interim Safety Profile From the Feasibility Study of the BrainGate Neural Interface System

  Neurology · 2023 · 71 citations

  BACKGROUND AND OBJECTIVES: Brain-computer interfaces (BCIs) are being developed to restore mobility, communication, and functional independence to people with paralysis. Though supported by decades of preclinical data, the safety of chronically implanted microelectrode array BCIs in humans is unknown. We report safety results from the prospective, open-label, nonrandomized BrainGate feasibility study (NCT00912041), the largest and longest-running clinical trial of an implanted BCI. METHODS: Adul…

  PublisherDOI

• Watch, Imagine, Attempt: Motor Cortex Single-Unit Activity Reveals Context-Dependent Movement Encoding in Humans With Tetraplegia

  Frontiers in Human Neuroscience · 2018-11-15 · 44 citations

  articleOpen accessSenior author

  Planning and performing volitional movement engages widespread networks in the human brain, with motor cortex considered critical to the performance of skilled limb actions. Motor cortex is also engaged when actions are observed or imagined, but the manner in which ensembles of neurons represent these volitional states (VoSs) is unknown. Here we provide direct demonstration that observing, imagining or attempting action activates shared neural ensembles in human motor cortex. Two individuals wit…

  PublisherDOI

Recent grants

• NIH Grant R37NS025074

  NIH · $3.4M · 2011

• NIH Grant R01NS022517

  NIH · $2.6M · 2003

• NIH Grant R03MH040972

  NIH · $19k · 1986

Frequent coauthors

• Leigh R. Hochberg

  Harvard University

  587 shared

• John D. Simeral

  251 shared

• Wilson Truccolo

  Providence College

  161 shared

• Carlos E. Vargas-Irwin

  John Brown University

  110 shared

• Donna Hourican

  University of Nottingham

  108 shared

• Dawn Melley

  108 shared

• Jeffrey Cichocki

  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

  108 shared

• Kevin Lisankie

  Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers

  108 shared

Awards & honors

• Queen Elizabeth Prize for Engineering (2026)

Similar researchers at Brown University

• Huajian Gaoh-156
• Nitin Padtureh-115
• Yue Qih-77