Simon Jacob

Language constitutes one of the most formidable sensorimotor integration functions of the human brain. While the cortical regions in the human frontal, temporal and parietal lobe that comprise the language network have already been identified, there are vast gaps in our understanding of the neuronal mechanisms that govern how we verbalize thoughts, intentions and emotions. I will present recent efforts in my laboratory devoted to establishing a brain-computer interface with cellular resolution for patients with language disorders (aphasia) after stroke. Using large-scale neurophysiological recordings from microelectrode arrays chronically implanted into right-hemispheric brain regions homotopic to the left language network, we are investigating how linguistic elements are encoded at the single-neuron level and how population-wide activity gives rise to temporal integration and combinatorial processes during language comprehension and production. The long-term goal of our transdisciplinary work is to explore neurotechnological approaches that leverage right-hemispheric cognitive resources for aphasia rehabilitation.

Prof. Jacob (b. 1977) is a neurologist and neurophysiologist. His research focusses on the cellular and circuit basis of cognitive brain functions. Based on his experimental work, Prof. Jacob is developing technologies that can contribute to improving treatments for disorders in the domains of perception, memory and language.

Prof. Jacob studied medicine in Freiburg and Heidelberg, at University College London (UK) and at Harvard University (USA) as a fellow of the German National Academic Foundation. He obtained his medical doctorate degree in 2006 based on experimental neurophysiological work conducted at Yale University (USA). Prof. Jacob was a postdoctoral researcher at the Center for Integrative Neuroscience in Tübingen and qualified as a board-certified neurologist after training in Tübingen and at the Charité in Berlin. In 2015, Prof. Jacob moved to TUM where he established an interdisciplinary research group investigating the neuronal mechanisms of cognitive brain functions. He was appointed professor for Translational Neurotechnology in 2019.