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Olaf Blanke

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Professor
Olaf Blanke
Olaf Blanke in 2021
Born1969 (age 54–55)
NationalitySwiss
German
Occupation(s)Neuroscientist and Neurologist
Known forConsciousness studies
TitleProf. Dr.
AwardsCloëtta Prize (2012)
Robert Bing Prize (2006)
Pfizer Prize (2005)
Academic background
EducationMedicine
Neurology
Neuroscience
Alma materFree University of Berlin
Sorbonne University
Doctoral advisorOtto-Joachim Grüsser
Other advisorsMargitta Seeck
Nicolas de Tribolet
Theodor Landis
Academic work
InstitutionsEPFL (École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne)
Geneva University Hospitals
Websitehttps://www.epfl.ch/labs/lnco/

Olaf Blanke (born 1969) is a Swiss and German physician, neurologist and neuroscientist. He holds the Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Cognitive Neuroprosthetics[1] at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL). He directs the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience[1] at the Brain Mind Institute[2] of EPFL and is professor of Neurology at Geneva University Hospitals. Blanke is known for his research on the neurological bases of self-consciousness and out-of-body experiences.[3][4][5][6]

Career

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From 1989 to 1996 Blanke studied in medicine at ((University of Münster)),Free University of Berlin and at Sorbonne University, Paris. He carried out his doctoral work in neuroscience with Otto-Joachim Grüsser at the Institute of Neurophysiology at the Free University of Berlin on multisensory mechanisms of saccadic eye movements.[7] He then joined the presurgical epilepsy program at Geneva University Hospitals as a postdoctoral researcher to work with Margitta Seeck and Nicolas de Tribolet on epileptology, cognitive neuroscience and brain imaging.[8] In 1999, he joined Theodor Landis as a resident doctor at the neurology department by at Geneva University Hospitals.[9]

He joined the EPFL in 2004 first as an assistant professor and has been full professor in neuroscience at EPFL since 2012. Since 2004, he has been the director of the Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience at the Brain Mind Institute specialized in robotics and virtual reality.[1][2]

In 2013, Blanke was appointed as a full professor in the Department of Clinical Neurosciences at the University of Geneva.[10][11]

Since 2018, Blanke has acted as founding director of EPFL's Center for Neuroprosthetics, dedicated to research in engineering, neuroscience and medicine, with research activities in Geneva, Fribourg, Sion, and Lausanne.[12][13][14][15][16]

Blanke is a board member of the neuro technology company Mindmaze[17] and co-founded Metaphysiks.[18]

Research

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Blanke's research is dedicated to the neuroscientific study of multisensory body perception and self-consciousness. Together with Thomas Metzinger he defined the concept of bodily self-consciousness[19] and showed that bodily self-consciousness is based on the integration of specific bodily signals,[20][21] including interoceptive and exteroceptive signals.[22][23][24]

For his research he adopted different virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), and mixed reality (MR) technologies with human neuroscience methods to investigate and induce controlled altered states of bodily self-consciousness.[25][26] The group further integrated VR and robotics with magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to identify the cortical network underlying bodily self-consciousness.[27] The description of this cortical network was extended and supported by electrophysiological and neuroimaging data in different patient populations with altered states of bodily self-consciousness such as out-of-body experiences,[28][29][30] the sense of presence or presence hallucinations,[31][32] or Doppelgänger experiences.[33]

Blanke's medical activities focus on the field of cognitive neuroprosthetics, and are dedicated to the design and clinical application of VR and robotics technology as novel diagnostic and therapeutic procedures. He developed and tested several new VR-based procedures for patients with chronic pain such as complex regional pain syndrome,[34][35] phantom limb pain in amputation,[36] and spinal cord injury.[37] Recently, he has developed new diagnostic and therapeutic procedures in patients with neurodegeneration such as Parkinson's disease and dementia with Lewy bodies.

He has also an interest in complex conscious experiences and their varied personal, neuroscientific, historical and cultural aspects. He has studied out-of-body experiences and astral travel,[38][39] doppelgänger experiences,[40][41] the sense of presence,[42][32] as well as free will,[43] and thought insertion.[44]

Awards

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Selected publications

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References

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  1. ^ a b c "LNCO". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  2. ^ a b "Neuroscience – Brain Mind Institute". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  3. ^ "Olaf Blanke". www.epfl.ch.
  4. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Landis, Theodor; Spinelli, Laurent; Seeck, Margitta (February 1, 2004). "Out-of-body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin". Brain. 127 (2): 243–258. doi:10.1093/brain/awh040. PMID 14662516 – via academic.oup.com.
  5. ^ "Olaf Blanke – Next Einstein Forum".
  6. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Ortigue, Stphanie; Landis, Theodor; Seeck, Margitta (2017-08-30). "Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions" (PDF). Nature. 419 (6904): 269–270. doi:10.1038/419269a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 12239558. S2CID 4427138.
  7. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Grüsser, Otto-Joachim (August 2001). "Saccades guided by somatosensory stimuli". Vision Research. 41 (18): 2407–2412. doi:10.1016/S0042-6989(01)00125-0. PMID 11459596. S2CID 12408914.
  8. ^ Seeck, M; Lazeyras, F; Michel, C. M; Blanke, O; Gericke, C. A; Ives, J; Delavelle, J; Golay, X; Haenggeli, C. A; de Tribolet, N; Landis, T (1998-06-01). "Non-invasive epileptic focus localization using EEG-triggered functional MRI and electromagnetic tomography". Electroencephalography and Clinical Neurophysiology. 106 (6): 508–512. doi:10.1016/S0013-4694(98)00017-0. ISSN 0013-4694. PMID 9741750.
  9. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Ortigue, Stphanie; Landis, Theodor; Seeck, Margitta (September 2002). "Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions". Nature. 419 (6904): 269–270. doi:10.1038/419269a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 12239558. S2CID 4427138.
  10. ^ "Department of clinical neurosciences - Département des neurosciences cliniques - UNIGE". www.unige.ch. 2014-09-09. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  11. ^ Arzy, Shahar; Halje, Pär; Schechter, Daniel S.; Spinelli, Laurent; Seeck, Margitta; Blanke, Olaf (February 2014). "Neural generators of psychogenic seizures: Evidence from intracranial and extracranial brain recordings". Epilepsy & Behavior. 31: 381–385. doi:10.1016/j.yebeh.2013.10.017. PMID 24210459. S2CID 5631549.
  12. ^ "Center for Neuroprosthetics". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2020-08-24.
  13. ^ "Center for Neuroprosthetics". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  14. ^ "Prof. Olaf Blanke". www.epfl.ch. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  15. ^ a b "Olaf BLANKE". European Forum Alpbach. Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  16. ^ Evangelista, Sandy (2012-07-17). "Seven new professors nominated". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  17. ^ "Our team". MindMaze. Retrieved 2021-02-09.
  18. ^ "Who we are – Metaphysiks". Retrieved 2021-04-26.
  19. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Metzinger, Thomas (January 2009). "Full-body illusions and minimal phenomenal selfhood". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 13 (1): 7–13. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2008.10.003. PMID 19058991. S2CID 10158045.
  20. ^ Blanke, Olaf (2012-07-18). "Multisensory brain mechanisms of bodily self-consciousness". Nature Reviews Neuroscience. 13 (8): 556–571. doi:10.1038/nrn3292. ISSN 1471-003X. PMID 22805909. S2CID 15713909.
  21. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Slater, Mel; Serino, Andrea (October 2015). "Behavioral, Neural, and Computational Principles of Bodily Self-Consciousness". Neuron. 88 (1): 145–166. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2015.09.029. ISSN 0896-6273. PMID 26447578.
  22. ^ Aspell, Jane Elizabeth; Heydrich, Lukas; Marillier, Guillaume; Lavanchy, Tom; Herbelin, Bruno; Blanke, Olaf (December 2013). "Turning Body and Self Inside Out: Visualized Heartbeats Alter Bodily Self-Consciousness and Tactile Perception". Psychological Science. 24 (12): 2445–2453. doi:10.1177/0956797613498395. ISSN 0956-7976. PMID 24104506. S2CID 14699588.
  23. ^ Park, Hyeong-Dong; Bernasconi, Fosco; Bello-Ruiz, Javier; Pfeiffer, Christian; Salomon, Roy; Blanke, Olaf (2016-08-10). "Transient Modulations of Neural Responses to Heartbeats Covary with Bodily Self-Consciousness". Journal of Neuroscience. 36 (32): 8453–8460. doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.0311-16.2016. ISSN 0270-6474. PMC 6601861. PMID 27511016.
  24. ^ Park, Hyeong-Dong; Blanke, Olaf (May 2019). "Coupling Inner and Outer Body for Self-Consciousness". Trends in Cognitive Sciences. 23 (5): 377–388. doi:10.1016/j.tics.2019.02.002. ISSN 1364-6613. PMID 30826212. S2CID 72335098.
  25. ^ Lenggenhager, B.; Tadi, T.; Metzinger, T.; Blanke, O. (2007-08-24). "Video Ergo Sum: Manipulating Bodily Self-Consciousness". Science. 317 (5841): 1096–1099. Bibcode:2007Sci...317.1096L. doi:10.1126/science.1143439. ISSN 0036-8075. PMID 17717189. S2CID 22240455.
  26. ^ Aspell, Jane Elizabeth; Heydrich, Lukas; Marillier, Guillaume; Lavanchy, Tom; Herbelin, Bruno; Blanke, Olaf (2013-10-08). "Turning Body and Self Inside Out: Visualized Heartbeats Alter Bodily Self-Consciousness and Tactile Perception". Psychological Science. 24 (12): 2445–2453. doi:10.1177/0956797613498395. PMID 24104506. S2CID 14699588.
  27. ^ Ionta, Silvio; Heydrich, Lukas; Lenggenhager, Bigna; Mouthon, Michael; Fornari, Eleonora; Chapuis, Dominique; Gassert, Roger; Blanke, Olaf (April 2011). "Multisensory Mechanisms in Temporo-Parietal Cortex Support Self-Location and First-Person Perspective". Neuron. 70 (2): 363–374. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.009. ISSN 0896-6273. PMID 21521620. S2CID 6391605.
  28. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Ortigue, Stphanie; Landis, Theodor; Seeck, Margitta (September 2002). "Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions". Nature. 419 (6904): 269–270. doi:10.1038/419269a. ISSN 1476-4687. PMID 12239558. S2CID 4427138.
  29. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Landis, Theodor; Spinelli, Laurent; Seeck, Margitta (February 2004). "Out-of-body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin". Brain. 127 (2): 243–258. doi:10.1093/brain/awh040. ISSN 1460-2156. PMID 14662516.
  30. ^ Ionta, Silvio; Heydrich, Lukas; Lenggenhager, Bigna; Mouthon, Michael; Fornari, Eleonora; Chapuis, Dominique; Gassert, Roger; Blanke, Olaf (April 2011). "Multisensory Mechanisms in Temporo-Parietal Cortex Support Self-Location and First-Person Perspective". Neuron. 70 (2): 363–374. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.009. PMID 21521620. S2CID 6391605.
  31. ^ Arzy, Shahar; Seeck, Margitta; Ortigue, Stephanie; Spinelli, Laurent; Blanke, Olaf (September 2006). "Induction of an illusory shadow person". Nature. 443 (7109): 287. Bibcode:2006Natur.443..287A. doi:10.1038/443287a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16988702.
  32. ^ a b Blanke, Olaf; Pozeg, Polona; Hara, Masayuki; Heydrich, Lukas; Serino, Andrea; Yamamoto, Akio; Higuchi, Toshiro; Salomon, Roy; Seeck, Margitta; Landis, Theodor; Arzy, Shahar (November 2014). "Neurological and Robot-Controlled Induction of an Apparition". Current Biology. 24 (22): 2681–2686. doi:10.1016/j.cub.2014.09.049. PMID 25447995.
  33. ^ Heydrich, Lukas; Blanke, Olaf (March 2013). "Distinct illusory own-body perceptions caused by damage to posterior insula and extrastriate cortex". Brain. 136 (3): 790–803. doi:10.1093/brain/aws364. ISSN 0006-8950. PMID 23423672.
  34. ^ Solcà, Marco; Ronchi, Roberta; Bello-Ruiz, Javier; Schmidlin, Thomas; Herbelin, Bruno; Luthi, François; Konzelmann, Michel; Beaulieu, Jean-Yves; Delaquaize, François; Schnider, Armin; Guggisberg, Adrian G. (2018-07-31). "Heartbeat-enhanced immersive virtual reality to treat complex regional pain syndrome". Neurology. 91 (5): e479–e489. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000005905. ISSN 0028-3878. PMID 29980635. S2CID 49714583.
  35. ^ Solcà, Marco; Krishna, Vibhor; Young, Nicole; Deogaonkar, Milind; Herbelin, Bruno; Orepic, Pavo; Mange, Robin; Rognini, Giulio; Serino, Andrea; Rezai, Ali; Blanke, Olaf (2020-11-30). "Enhancing analgesic spinal cord stimulation for chronic pain with personalized immersive virtual reality". Pain. 162 (6): 1641–1649. doi:10.1097/j.pain.0000000000002160. ISSN 0304-3959. PMID 33259460. S2CID 227252509.
  36. ^ Rognini, Giulio; Petrini, Francesco Maria; Raspopovic, Stanisa; Valle, Giacomo; Granata, Giuseppe; Strauss, Ivo; Solcà, Marco; Bello-Ruiz, Javier; Herbelin, Bruno; Mange, Robin; D'Anna, Edoardo (2019-07-01). "Multisensory bionic limb to achieve prosthesis embodiment and reduce distorted phantom limb perceptions". Journal of Neurology, Neurosurgery & Psychiatry. 90 (7): 833–836. doi:10.1136/jnnp-2018-318570. ISSN 0022-3050. PMC 6791810. PMID 30100550.
  37. ^ Pozeg, Polona; Palluel, Estelle; Ronchi, Roberta; Solcà, Marco; Al-Khodairy, Abdul-Wahab; Jordan, Xavier; Kassouha, Ammar; Blanke, Olaf (2017-10-31). "Virtual reality improves embodiment and neuropathic pain caused by spinal cord injury". Neurology. 89 (18): 1894–1903. doi:10.1212/WNL.0000000000004585. ISSN 0028-3878. PMC 5664293. PMID 28986411.
  38. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Ortigue, Stphanie; Landis, Theodor; Seeck, Margitta (September 2002). "Stimulating illusory own-body perceptions". Nature. 419 (6904): 269–270. doi:10.1038/419269a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 12239558. S2CID 4427138.
  39. ^ Ionta, Silvio; Heydrich, Lukas; Lenggenhager, Bigna; Mouthon, Michael; Fornari, Eleonora; Chapuis, Dominique; Gassert, Roger; Blanke, Olaf (April 2011). "Multisensory Mechanisms in Temporo-Parietal Cortex Support Self-Location and First-Person Perspective". Neuron. 70 (2): 363–374. doi:10.1016/j.neuron.2011.03.009. ISSN 0896-6273. PMID 21521620. S2CID 6391605.
  40. ^ Blanke, Olaf; Landis, Theodor; Spinelli, Laurent; Seeck, Margitta (February 2004). "Out-of-body experience and autoscopy of neurological origin". Brain. 127 (2): 243–258. doi:10.1093/brain/awh040. ISSN 1460-2156. PMID 14662516.
  41. ^ Heydrich, Lukas; Blanke, Olaf (March 2013). "Distinct illusory own-body perceptions caused by damage to posterior insula and extrastriate cortex". Brain. 136 (3): 790–803. doi:10.1093/brain/aws364. ISSN 0006-8950. PMID 23423672.
  42. ^ Arzy, Shahar; Seeck, Margitta; Ortigue, Stephanie; Spinelli, Laurent; Blanke, Olaf (September 2006). "Induction of an illusory shadow person". Nature. 443 (7109): 287. Bibcode:2006Natur.443..287A. doi:10.1038/443287a. ISSN 0028-0836. PMID 16988702.
  43. ^ Park, Hyeong-Dong; Barnoud, Coline; Trang, Henri; Kannape, Oliver A.; Schaller, Karl; Blanke, Olaf (2020-02-06). "Breathing is coupled with voluntary action and the cortical readiness potential". Nature Communications. 11 (1): 289. Bibcode:2020NatCo..11..289P. doi:10.1038/s41467-019-13967-9. ISSN 2041-1723. PMC 7005287. PMID 32029711.
  44. ^ Serino, Andrea; Pozeg, Polona; Bernasconi, Fosco; Solcà, Marco; Hara, Masayuki; Progin, Pierre; Stripeikyte, Giedre; Dhanis, Herberto; Salomon, Roy; Bleuler, Hannes; Rognini, Giulio (January 2021). "Thought consciousness and source monitoring depend on robotically controlled sensorimotor conflicts and illusory states". iScience. 24 (1): 101955. Bibcode:2021iSci...24j1955S. doi:10.1016/j.isci.2020.101955. PMC 7797520. PMID 33458614.
  45. ^ "Cloëtta Prize | Max Cloëtta Stiftung". Retrieved 2020-08-17.
  46. ^ Team, SV-Dean's (2012-11-16). "The 2012 Cloëtta Foundation Award to Olaf Blanke". {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help)
  47. ^ "Robert Bing Preis" (PDF). Retrieved 2020-08-18.
  48. ^ "Des excursions transcendantales à la médecine moderne". Fondation Leenaards - Favoriser la dynamique créatrice (in French). Retrieved 2020-08-18.
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