Max Murphy, PhD

Max Murphy, PhD

WTF Guy @ NML

Cyrus' Dad

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news

Successful Dissertation Defense

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Successful Defense!

I successfully defended my doctoral thesis (Neurophysiological mechanisms of sensorimotor recovery from stroke), with honors! Read more

Carnegie Mellon talk

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Virtual presentation: Carnegie Mellon University

I presented a modified version of my thesis to the Weber lab and affiliate faculty, going into a little more technical detail about the results from Aim 1 of my dissertation. Read more

Thoughts on Peer Review

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First Post: On Academic Service

Check out my thoughts on modern peer review. I see peer review as the main way in which I can currently provide a service to my academic peers. However, I have a real bone to pick with the details of how peer review is conducted in practice. Read more

Thoughts on TCOE

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Thoughts on TCOE

I am an avid fan of Dungeons & Dragons (5e), which means I run games for some of my friends (more frequently the case in the past). Recently, Wizards of the Coast released a new supplement (Tasha’s Cauldron of Everything; TCOE), which introduces new optional class features. I had an immediate dislike to one of the new Fighter class features, so I decided to do some simulations. Read more

Active Inference Model-Stream

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Active Inference Model-Stream

I’ll be participating in the Active Inference ModelStream #001.0: “A Step-by-Step Tutorial on Active Inference” today at 11am CST. Please join me here if you would like to watch live! Read more

Neuro-Activities

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Neuro-Activities

One of the graduate students at our lab (Monica) made this really cool website with interactive neuroscience activities for teaching key concepts related to some of the more abstract parts of research going on in motor systems neuroscience. Read more

NML Behavioral Tasks

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Behavioral Task Docs

I have been working to upgrade the documentation and make more modular the codebase running behavioral tasks. Specifically, I wanted to make a networked protocol compiled in c/c++ that allowed for very-high fidelity in logging from devices across several different operating systems/distributions. I’ve included the relevant doxygen documentation on the NML-WTF website. Read more

Fitts Law Tasks

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Fitts Law

Fitts’ Law is a way of measuring motor throughput in point-to-point movements. The framework has been extended to evaluating human-computer interactions, but may need refinement depending on the nature of the task and what type of information we care about specifically. Read more

Accidental Malware

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Accidental Malware

After more-or-less finalizing several Fitts’ Tasks for measuring motor information throughput, I figured I should make it possible to interface to the tasks using more than just a mouse, trackpad, or touchscreen. My idea was to write a compiled c/c++ executable, which I could easily run from any Windows-11 device (i.e. most of my normal lab workstations), that would run in the background as a “controller emulator server.” I got to work writing an Input_Utilities code repository. You may have guessed where this is headed. Read more

TabletHID

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TabletHID

I put together TabletHID as a web app for turning a tablet-style surface into an input device for experiments and demos. The goal is to make it easier to prototype touch-driven control schemes without having to rebuild the rest of the stack every time the interface changes. Read more

publications

Current challenges facing the translation of brain computer interfaces from preclinical trials to use in human patients

Published in Frontiers in Cellular Neuroscience, 2016

This is a review of the challenges facing the translation of brain computer interfaces from preclinical trials to widespread use in the clinic. There is an emphasis on activity-dependent stimulation and similar paradigms. Read more

Recommended citation: Murphy, M. D., Guggenmos, D. J., Bundy, D. T., Nudo, R. J. (2016). Current challenges facing the translation of brain computer interfaces from preclinical trials to use in human patients. Frontiers in cellular neuroscience, 9, 497. (Link)

Comprehensive spatial analysis of the Borrelia burgdorferi lipoproteome reveals a compartmentalization bias toward the bacterial surface

Published in Journal of Bacteriology, 2017

This paper is about the localization of lipoproteins to a particular side and layer of the bilayer membrane of Borrelia, the causative agent of Lyme disease. It is a descriptive study that catalogues this specific property of each putative lipoprotein identified in the Borrelia lipoproteome. Read more

Recommended citation: Dowdell, A. S., Murphy, M. D., Azodi, C., Swanson, S. K., Florens, L., Chen, S., Zuckert, W. R. (2017). Comprehensive spatial analysis of the Borrelia burgdorferi lipoproteome reveals a compartmentalization bias toward the bacterial surface. Journal of bacteriology, 199(6). (Link)

Assessing Perturbations to Neural Spiking Response Dynamics Caused By Electrical Microstimulation

Published in International Symposium on Circuits and Systems, 2018

This paper is about a proof-of-concept nonlinear dynamical systems approach applied to peri-stimulus epochs to see if it could detect longitudinal differences in how open- and closed-loop influence the system response to electrical microstimulation of sensory cortex in ambulatory rats. Read more

Recommended citation: Murphy, M. D., Dunham, C., Nudo, R. J., Guggenmos, D. J., Averna, A. (2018, May). Assessing Perturbations to Neural Spiking Response Dynamics Caused By Electrical Microstimulation. In 2018 IEEE International Symposium on Circuits and Systems (ISCAS) (pp. 1-5). IEEE. (Link)

Improving an open-source commercial system to reliably perform activity-dependent stimulation

Published in Journal of Neural Engineering, 2019

We modified the Intan Stimulation/Recording controller to deliver closed-loop stimulation using a finite state machine to improve artifact rejection, such as may occur due to electrical microstimulation or other physiological events such as chewing and whisking. Read more

Recommended citation: Murphy, M., Buccelli, S., Bornat, Y., Bundy, D., Nudo, R., Guggenmos, D., Chiappalone, M. (2019). Improving an open-source commercial system to reliably perform activity-dependent stimulation. Journal of neural engineering, 16(6), 066022. (Link)

Chronic stability of single-channel neurophysiological correlates of gross and fine reaching movements in the rat

Published in PLoS ONE, 2019

Rats were trained on a gross (lever-press) and fine (pellet-retrieval) forelimb task, implanted with microwire arrays spanning unilateral sensorimotor cortex contralateral to the moving limb, and then tested over the course of days and weeks to determine the longitudinal stability of both spiking unit signals as well as gamma LFP in this context. Read more

Recommended citation: Bundy, D. T., Guggenmos, D. J., Murphy, M. D., Nudo, R. J. (2019). Chronic stability of single-channel neurophysiological correlates of gross and fine reaching movements in the rat. PloS one, 14(10), e0219034. (Link)

Differential effects of open-and closed-loop intracortical microstimulation on firing patterns of neurons in distant cortical areas

Published in Cerebral cortex, 2020

Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) was applied to the rat primary sensory cortex in healthy anesthetized rats using both closed- and open-loop paradigms. Changes in firing rates and regimes were tested over the course of a few hours to determine if an effect differentiating the protocols could be detected during this time. Read more

Recommended citation: Averna, A., Pasquale, V., Murphy, M. D., Rogantin, M. P., Van Acker, G. M., Nudo, R. J., Guggenmos, D. J. (2020). Differential effects of open-and closed-loop intracortical microstimulation on firing patterns of neurons in distant cortical areas. Cerebral Cortex, 30(5), 2879-2896. (Link)

Effects of tDCS on spontaneous spike activity in a healthy ambulatory rat model

Published in Brain Stimulation, 2020

We tested whether transcranial direct-current stimulation (tDCS) had any effect on the spike rate or LFP content in ambulatory rats using a within-subject design to test anodal, cathodal, and sham stimulation cases. Read more

Recommended citation: Milighetti, S., Sterzi, S., Fregni, F., Hanlon, C. A., Hayley, P., Murphy, M. D., Nudo R. J., Guggenmos, D. J. (2020). Effects of tDCS on spontaneous spike activity in a healthy ambulatory rat model. Brain Stimulation, 13(6), 1566-1576. (Link)

LFP based analysis of brain injured anesthetized animals undergoing closed-loop intracortical stimulation

Published in 2021 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER), 2021

Read more

Recommended citation: Barban, F., Averna, A., Murphy, M. D., Carè, M., Nudo, R. J., Guggenmos, D. J., Chiappalone, M. (2021, May). LFP based analysis of brain injured anesthetized animals undergoing closed-loop intracortical stimulation. In 2021 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER) (pp. 293-296). IEEE. (Link)

Spike-based analysis of brain injured anesthetized animals undergoing closed-loop intracortical stimulation

Published in 2021 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER), 2021

Acquired brain injuries, such as stroke, are a major cause of long-term disability worldwide. We investigated how neuronal activity is modified following an injury to primary motor cortex and in response to an activity-dependent stimulation (ADS) protocol, recording spike activity in the rostral forelimb area and somatosensory cortex of brain-injured anesthetized rats. An ischemic injury in M1 led to an overall increase in spike activity within RFA and S1, and subsequent treatment with ADS promoted the generation of synchronized patterns in both areas. Read more

Recommended citation: Carè, M., Averna, A., Barban, F., Murphy, M. D., Nudo, R. J., Guggenmos, D. J., Chiappalone, M. (2021, May). Spike-based analysis of brain injured anesthetized animals undergoing closed-loop intracortical stimulation. In 2021 10th International IEEE/EMBS Conference on Neural Engineering (NER) (pp. 285-288). IEEE. (Link)

LFP analysis of brain injured anesthetized animals undergoing closed-loop intracortical stimulation

Published in IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 2022

Read more

Recommended citation: Averna, A., Barban, F., Carè, M., Murphy, M. D., Iandolo, R., De Michieli, L., Nudo, R. J., Guggenmos, D. J., Chiappalone, M. (2022). LFP analysis of brain injured anesthetized animals undergoing closed-loop intracortical stimulation. IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering, 30, 1441-1451. (Link)

Post-ischemic reorganization of sensory responses in cerebral cortex

Published in Frontiers in Neuroscience, 2023

Investigates whether peripheral sensory stimulation activates premotor cortex following primary motor cortex injury in rats. Neural responses to mechanical forepaw stimulation were recorded four weeks post-ischemic lesion in seven rats. Post-ischemic functional connectivity emerged between premotor and somatosensory cortex, and stimulation of premotor regions modulated sensory responses—suggesting that premotor–somatosensory coupling is a substrate for sensorimotor recovery after stroke. Read more

Recommended citation: Hayley P, Tuchek C, Dalla S, Borrell J, Murphy MD, Nudo RJ, et al. Post-ischemic reorganization of sensory responses in cerebral cortex. Front Neurosci. 2023. doi:10.3389/fnins.2023.1151309. (Link)

Wireless magnetoelectric neural interfaces

Published in 2023 IEEE International Magnetic Conference - Short Papers (INTERMAG Short Papers), 2023

Read more

Recommended citation: Zhang, E., Abdel-Mottaleb, M., Shulgach, J., Campos, M. A., Murphy, M., Navarrete, B., Chen, S., Andre, V., Shotbolt, M., Griffin, D., Weber, D., Liang, P., Khizroev, S. (2023). Wireless magnetoelectric neural interfaces. In 2023 IEEE International Magnetic Conference - Short Papers (INTERMAG Short Papers) (pp. 1-2). IEEE. (Link)

Enabling advanced interactions through closed-loop control of motor unit activity after tetraplegia

Published in ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST) Adjunct Proceedings, 2024

Read more

Recommended citation: Despradel, D., Murphy, M. D., Borda, L., Verma, N., Yadav, P., Shanahan, J., Marshall, N., Formento, E., Bracklein, M., Ye, J., Walkington, P., Rajalingham, R., Sussillo, D., Naufel, S., Gutnisky, D. A., Collinger, J., Weber, D. (2024). Enabling advanced interactions through closed-loop control of motor unit activity after tetraplegia. In Adjunct Proceedings of the ACM Symposium on User Interface Software and Technology (UIST). ACM. (Link)

Preliminary study of steerable pulsed transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) of motor cortex in humans

Published in IEEE Engineering in Medicine and Biology Society (EMBC), 2025

Demonstrates precision motor-cortex targeting using a 64-electrode high-density surface array delivering 100 µs pulses at 50–150 mA. Moving the injected electric field by sub-centimeter distances measurably changes the activation profile of arm and hand muscles as monitored by EMG. The results suggest that steerable transcranial electrical stimulation could substitute for invasive stimulation in some clinical contexts and enhance intraoperative muscle-function monitoring. Read more

Recommended citation: Forssell M, Murphy MD, Jain V, Shulgach JA, Tansel DZ, Cao J, et al. Preliminary study of steerable pulsed transcranial electrical stimulation (TES) of motor cortex in humans. In: Proc IEEE EMBC. 2025. doi:10.1109/EMBC58623.2025.11253222. (Link)

Absence of cortical reorganization following an internal capsule stroke in rodents

Published in bioRxiv, 2025

Compares movement-related cortical activity during skilled motor recovery in rats following lesions to either motor cortex or the internal capsule. Cortical lesions showed early behavioral recovery accompanied by widespread reductions in ipsilesional neural activity, whereas internal capsule lesions exhibited delayed recovery without sustained cortical reorganization—suggesting that recovery mechanisms differ fundamentally based on lesion location within the motor pathway. Read more

Recommended citation: Cettina PE, Guggenmos DJ, Sivakumar SS, Murphy MD, Barbay HS, Nudo RJ, et al. Absence of cortical reorganization following an internal capsule stroke in rodents. bioRxiv [Preprint]. 2025. doi:10.1101/2025.10.31.685962. (Link)

Reducing scalp pain for pTES of motor cortex using background hums

Published in Brain Stimulation, 2026

A letter describing the use of sub-threshold background hum stimulation to reduce scalp discomfort during precision transcranial electrical stimulation (pTES) of motor cortex. The approach targets a practical barrier to clinical adoption of high-density surface electrode TES systems, where skin sensation under active electrodes can limit tolerable stimulation amplitudes. Read more

Recommended citation: Forssell M, Tusi R, Kim J, Murphy MD, Shulgach JA, Yadav P, et al. Reducing scalp pain for pTES of motor cortex using background hums. Brain Stimul. 2026;19(1):103024. doi:10.1016/j.brs.2026.103024. (Link)

Temporal state-space model for forecasting slow-wave EEG power in non-human primates

Published in Journal of Neural Engineering, 2026

Validates an individualized forecasting framework using a TBATS model to predict slow-wave EEG power in cynomolgus monkeys recorded over 12 consecutive days via wireless telemetry. TBATS achieved stable forecasts with as few as 2 days of training data and produced white-noise residuals superior to naive, Holt-Winters, and SARIMA baselines. The framework enables personalized neural baselines for tracking neurodegeneration or optimizing closed-loop therapies in preclinical and clinical applications. Read more

Recommended citation: Jiang R, Murphy M, Low J, Weber DJ, Griffin DM. Temporal state-space model for forecasting slow-wave EEG power in non-human primates. J Neural Eng. 2026. doi:10.1088/1741-2552/ae62a9. (Link)

Magnetoelectric Nanoparticle-Based Wireless Brain-Computer Interface: Underlying Physics and Projected Technology Pathway

Published in Advanced Science, 2026

Explores magnetoelectric nanoparticles (MENPs) as a platform for wireless, bidirectional brain-computer interfaces, converting applied magnetic fields into localized electrical signals at the nanoscale. A comprehensive framework incorporating nonlinear physics effects predicts that properly engineered MENPs could enable deep brain and cortical neuromodulation and recording with submillimeter spatial resolution and millisecond temporal precision, potentially offering clinically viable BCIs without implanted electrodes or genetic modification. Read more

Recommended citation: Zhang E, Shotbolt M, Abdel-Mottaleb M, Chen S, Andre V, Tian J, et al. Magnetoelectric nanoparticle-based wireless brain-computer interface: underlying physics and projected technology pathway. Adv Sci. 2026. doi:10.1002/advs.202524329. (Link)

Enabling skilled human-computer interaction after paralysis via a wearable sEMG interface

Published in Science Robotics, 2026

Most individuals with tetraplegia retain some myoelectric function in their forearms, which offers the possibility of using surface electromyographic (sEMG) control for human-computer interaction (HCI). We demonstrate the potential of this approach by showing that people with motor-complete (n=5) and motor-incomplete (n=2) tetraplegia can accurately control myoelectric activity in their forearm to perform discrete button-click and continuous positioning tasks. These control inputs were mapped to the firing rate of motor units detected by a wireless wristband sensor designed for everyday use. Participants completed four testing sessions to assess their speed and accuracy. Motor units that displayed a wide dynamic range in their firing rate performed best during tasks requiring continuous, single-axis control. Interestingly, the level of impairment did not affect performance on the clicking and 1D cursor control tasks. However, those with motor-incomplete injuries showed greater independent control over two motor units than participants with motor-complete injuries, who exhibited stronger coupling between units. Participants also confirmed the practical utility of the device, successfully placing and removing the sEMG wristband on their own and consistently rating it as comfortable and easy to manage. These findings are significant because they offer the first demonstration of motor unit-based control in individuals with cervical spinal cord injury (SCI) using a fully wearable wristband interface, highlighting the feasibility of moving these systems out of the lab and into daily life. Read more

Recommended citation: Despradel Rumaldo, D. L., Murphy, M. D., Borda, L., Marshall, N., Formento, E., Bracklein, M., Lee, J., et al. (2026). Enabling skilled human-computer interaction after paralysis via a wearable sEMG interface. bioRxiv, 2026.01.09.698484. Provisionally accepted at Science Robotics. (Link)

research

Data pipelines

Published:

Data processing pipeline for neurophysiological data collected in studies related to rehabilitation from injury to the nervous system.
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Cortical population dynamics after stroke in reaching rats.

Published:

We recorded extracellular field potentials from microwire arrays embedded in the contralateral rostral forelimb area (RFA) and the ipsilateral caudal forelimb area (CFA) with respect to the preferred forelimb used during pellet retrievals by rats. A subset of rats received a focal vasoconstrictive ischemia in CFA contralateral to the preferred reaching forelimb, which led to clear motor deficits on this task.
Read more

Magnetoelectric neural interfaces

Published:

Wireless neural interfaces based on magnetoelectric nanoparticles — and the careful experiments needed to tell real evoked responses from stimulation artifacts (DARPA N3).
Read more

talks

Neuroplasticity and Neurorehabilitation

Talk, Rockhurst, 2017

I gave an invited guest lecture describing principles of neuroplasticity as it applies to neurorehabilitation, with emphasis on brain-computer interfaces and closed-loop stimulation strategies designed to augment physical therapy. Read more

Capitol Graduate Research Summit

Poster, State Capitol Building, 2017

I presented a poster on a Hidden Markov Model that decoded the information transfer rate of nodes in a network within anesthetized rat rostral forelimb area (RFA) as a potential model for evaluating changes in information rate following different intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) modalities. Read more

State Machine for Low-Latency High-Fidelity Spike Detection

Talk, University of Kansas Medical Center, 2019

I made it to the final round of the KUMC three-minute thesis competition where I presented work that was ultimately published in Journal of Neural Engineering, describing a low-latency, high-fidelity spike discriminator that I implemented for the Intan Stimulation/Recording controller together with my collaborator, Stefano Buccelli. Read more