Joachim Vandekerckhove and Ramesh Srinivasan, UC Irvine cognitive sciences professors, have been awarded $674,807 from the National Science Foundation to develop a more precise mathematical model to explain how brain activity translates to human behavior. 

Using electroencephalogram (EEG) – which measures electrical activity in the brain – and electromyography (EMG) – which measures muscle activity – the researchers will develop a model that explains brain-behavior response on small time-scales. They’ll then use the model to make predictions about both brain and behavioral responses to determine if the model is scalable and accurate when presented with new stimuli, and robust when applied in new tasks and contexts. 

The findings will help researchers and practitioners develop smarter and faster brain-computer interfaces as well as test theories of human cognition. 

Funding for this study began in September and runs through August 2022.