Echolocating bats have long been thought to not move their eyes. Now, Cullen lab alum Vanessa Chang shows that bats exhibit minimal VOR but robust OKR and otolith-driven responses during off-axis rotation, showing that bat gaze relies on both visual and vestibular input.
www.cell.com/current-biol...
In this new paper, postdoc Brandie Morris Verdone shows that mice generate active eye movements to redirect gaze during goal-directed orienting, revealing conserved principles of eye–head coordination across vertebrates. www.nature.com/articles/s42...
In most vestibular structures, sensory input is suppressed during self-generated movement. Here, postdoc Robyn Mildren shows an exception in the cerebellar nodulus/uvula, which faithfully encodes head motion in space across behavioral contexts. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Heading to ARO? Check out postdoc Ruihan Wei's presentation: "Probing Central Vestibular Processing of Prosthetic Input via High-Density Neural Recordings in Freely Moving Nonhuman Primates" (2/7/26 at 3:30 PM) #ARO2026 #vestibular #research
Proper planar orientation of inner ear hair cells is essential for sensory function. This new paper n this new paper demonstrates that GPR156 is critical for hair cell planar orientation, and inactivation of GPR156 leads to both auditory and vestibular deficits. www.nature.com/articles/s41...
Keeping the head steady during walking is critical for stable vision and posture - how is it accomplished at the level of motor control? Postdoc Ruihan Wei shows that this fundamental behavior results from context-sensitive neck muscle coordination in macaques.
www.nature.com/articles/s42...
Detecting deficits in vestibular schwannoma patients can be challenging using traditional clinical assessments. A deep learning classifier developed by Masters student Lou Voinonv uses data from whole-body motion sensors to identify pre-surgical changes in movement.
thecullenlab.org/wp-content/u...
Falls are a major complication of vestibular loss, and fall prevention requires understanding broader risk factors. Masters student Lou Kohler Voinov explored data from >5700 participants and found some expected risk factors plus some unexpected ones! link.springer.com/article/10.1...
Seems like just yesterday we were celebrating (and snapping a quick lab photo at) Kathy's installation as the Raj & Neera Singh Professor at @jhu.edu!
New paper out!
Thrilled to share CUSP, a fully automated deep-learning framework for sorting complex spikes from high-density cerebellar recordings.
CUSP is now live on GitHub so the community can use, test, and build on it.
Paper: pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41265572/
GitHub: github.com/CullenLab/CUSP
Our SFN symposium review is out!
This fantastic team effort presented a cross-species look at how the brain predicts and attenuates its own self-generated sensory signals during action.
www.jneurosci.org/content/45/4...
Before this morning’s #SfN25 poster session is done, stop by to learn about PhD student Chenhao Bao’s work to improve detection of complex spikes in Purkinje cells, a crucial challenge in cerebellar high density recordings.
Big thanks to this afternoon’s #SfN25 symposium speakers for illuminating mechanisms of sensory cancellation across species and modalities, and especially to @kkilteni.bsky.social for organizing!
Local coolest lab member @lexcience.bsky.social presented recent work using high-density recordings to investigate self-motion processing in macaque cortex at yesterday’s #SfN25 afternoon poster session
A fantastic round of talks on vestibular prostheses, including work from grad students Oliver Stanley, Olivia Leavitt Brown, and Akshit Chhabra. We still have a few more talks and posters, so look for us in your programs! #sfn @omelbrown.bsky.social @oliwhail.bsky.social @akshitchhabra.bsky.social
Need something to do at 8AM on a Sunday morning? Come see these Cullen Lab members working on vestibular prosthesis projects at the Vestibular & Visual Prostheses Nanosymposium (Room 23A)!
We made it to #SfN2025! Brave the rain and come see Merrill (J6) present on self motion encoding in mouse VN, and Raabeae (J10) present on kinematic features of superior canal diheisence syndrome
Congrats to lab members Chenhao Bao and Merrill Green for winning this week's JHU OneNeuro FotoFriday contest with their illustration of simple and complex spikes recorded simultaneously from a cerebellar Purkinje cell! www.oneneurojhu.org/art/
Can a tiny hole in the superior canal change the way we walk? 🧠🚶 In our new study, we show that people with unilateral SCDS exhibit distinct gait kinematics—revealing canal-specific roles in mobility and pointing to new directions for vestibular rehab www.nature.com/articles/s41...
We are pleased to welcome new grad student Nikita Lebedz! Nikita graduated from the University of Michigan with a major in BME and is interested in sensory & functional amelioration with neuroengineering. In his spare time, he loves to learn, visit museums, write poetry, and explore nature.
The Cullen and Charles Labs (Biomedical Engineering, JHU) are recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to join a multi-PI collaborative project developing a cerebellar neuroprosthesis to restore gait, tremor, and balance in cerebellar disorders. For details, see: thecullenlab.org/opportunities/
Big round of applause to our undergraduate summer researchers, Logan and Nelly, who presented their projects at the CARES Symposium last week. We're so proud of the work they both did, and wish them the best as they head back to a new school year.
In a recently published correspondence, we describe the development of a hardware circuit and analysis pipeline for simple template subtraction of electrical stimulation artifacts in neural data collected using Neuropixels 1.0 high-density probes. www.brainstimjrnl.com/article/S193...
Please join us in welcoming summer undergraduate students, Logan Bright and Nelly Musajeva! Logan and Nelly are participating in the Hopkins CARES program for undergraduate research experiences.
We are so happy that @akshitchhabra.bsky.social will be sticking with the Cullen Lab for his PhD! Welcome to the lab, Akshit!
The cerebellar vermis keeps us balanced by integrating sensory and motor signals. In this new review, Drs. Mildren and Cullen examine how the specialized functions of the anterior and posterior vermis contribute to postural control across a variety of contexts. www.jneurosci.org/content/45/2...
THREE #VOR talks today! Clinician Jenn Millar @ 2:15 digging into recent results in superior canal digisence, followed by postdoc Ruihan Wei @ 3:05 discussing VN activity in walking monkeys, and finally PhD student Skyler Thomas @ 3:25 analyzing and modeling vestibular loss’ impact on gaze control.
Big moment for graduate student @chenhaobao.bsky.social, who is giving his first conference talk at #VOR. Attendees, be sure to check out Chenhao's talk at 10:15 on a method for sorting Purkinke cell complex spikes recorded from primate vestibular cerebellum! #VestibularOrientedResearch
Our work on balance -critical for mobility, especially as we age- links basic neuroscience to real-world clinical needs & is only possible with sustained NIH support. Federal cuts threaten research like ours, with direct impacts on fall prevention, rehab, and support of aging populations. Read more:
Lab PSA! #NCMPan25 attendees should check out @omelbrown.bsky.social‘s poster on vestibular contributions to monkey posture during support surface tilts (Tues & Weds) and postdoc Ruihan Wei’s talk re: vestibular influence on head stabilization & neck muscle activity in walking monkeys (Tues 3:30)!