Nick Ramsey

Nick Ramsey has a degree in Psychology and a PhD in neuro-psychopharmacology, both from the university of Utrecht (Netherlands). He became a specialist in cognitive neuroimaging in the US (National Institutes of Health), and applies modern techniques, including high-field (7 Tesla) fMRI and intracranial EEG, to questions on working memory, language, and sensorimotor function. His primary goal is to acquire and translate neuro-scientific insights to patients with neurological and psychiatric disorders, with a focus on brain-computer interfacing (BCI). He is full professor in cognitive neuroscience at the department of neurology and neurosurgery of the UMC Utrecht since 2007. He has been awarded several personal grants including a VIDI (NWO, 2002) for elucidating working memory, a VICI (NWO, 2006) and later a European ERC Advanced grant for developing intracranial BCI concepts for paralyzed people. The BCI research resulted in a world-wide first fully implanted BCI for home use, implanted in a locked-in patient with ALS in 2015. Current research aims to develop and implement the next generation BCI implants, for enabling people with communication disorders to speak again. He has co-founded, and is the current President of, the international brain-Computer Interface. He has also been awarded a STW Valorisation grant (phase 1 & 2) for starting a spin-off company (BrainCarta) to provide Clinical fMRI reports to clinicians. He has supervised over 20 PhD students and has (co)authored over 180 peer-reviewed publications.

Research line

Brain-Computer Interface, Human Brain Function, Neurotechnology, Translational Neuroscience

Key publications

 1: Ramsey NF, Salari E, Aarnoutse EJ, Vansteensel MJ, Bleichner MB and Freudenburg ZV (2017) Decoding spoken phonemes from sensorimotor cortex with High-Density ECoG grids. Neuroimage (in press)

2: Bruurmijn LCM, Pereboom IPL, Vansteensel MJ, Raemaekers MAH and Ramsey NF (2017) Preservation of hand movement representation in the sensorimotor areas of amputees. Brain 140(12):3166-3178

3: Berezutskaya J, Freudenburg ZV, Güçlü U, van Gerven MAJ, Ramsey NF (2017) Neural tuning to low-level features of speech throughout the perisylvian cortex. J Neurosci (in press)

4: Vansteensel MJ, Pels EGM, Bleichner MG, Branco MP, Denison T, Freudenburg ZV, Gosselaar P, Leinders S, Ottens TH, Van Den Boom MA, Van Rijen PC, Aarnoutse EJ, Ramsey NF (2016) Fully Implanted Brain–Computer Interface in a Locked-In Patient with ALS. N Engl J Med 375:2060-2066

5: Branco MP, Freudenburg ZV, Aarnoutse EJ, Bleichner MG, Vansteensel MJ, Ramsey NF (2016) Decoding hand gestures from primary somatosensory cortex using high-density ECoG. Neuroimage 147:130-142

6: Vansteensel MJ, Bleichner MG, Freudenburg ZV, Hermes D, Aarnoutse EJ, Leijten FS, Ferrier CH, Jansma JM, Ramsey NF (2014) Spatiotemporal characteristics of electrocortical brain activity during mental calculation. Hum Brain Mapp. 35(12):5903-20.

7: Ramsey NF, Aarnoutse EJ, Vansteensel MJ (2014) Brain implants for substituting lost motor function: state of the art and potential impact on lives of motor-impaired seniors. Gerontology 60(4): 366-72