Research profile

Neurons are fundamental – structural and functional – blocks of the brain. Because of that our progress in understanding brain mechanisms stems from studying activity of these specialized cells. Unfortunately, possibilities to record activity of human neurons are extremely limited.  This is a significant obstacle to our quest for understanding neuronal mechanisms undelaying cognitive processes unique to humans. In the laboratory we utilize a rare opportunity to record a single-neuron activity during surgical procedures when a direct access to the human brain is necessary for treatment. Those opportunities include implantations of Deep Brain Stimulation electrode in Parkinson’s subjects or invasive Epilepsy monitoring. We focus our work on higher cognitive functions, especially Working Memory that constitutes the basis of our mind. To fully understand interactions of recorded neuronal populations we use advanced computational techniques like machine learning or neuronal networks’ modeling. Finally, our intracranial research is always performed on subjects who need treatment, so we also test how brain pathologies impact cognition and cells’ activity with the hope to create more effective treatments.

Current research activities

• Neuronal correlates of Working Memory
• Role of Dopamine neurons in Long-Term Memory.
• Neuronal correlates of cognitive decline in Parkinson’s disease
• Interaction between Long-Term Memory and Working Memory
• Machine learning methods of the classification of mental disorders based on EEG recordings

Selected publications

Kubska ZR, Kamiński J. How Human Single-Neuron Recordings Can Help Us Understand Cognition: Insights from Memory Studies. Brain Sci. 2021 Mar 30;11(4):443. doi: 10.3390/brainsci11040443. PMID: 33808391; PMCID: PMC8067009.

Kamiński, J., & Rutishauser, U. (2020). Between persistently active and activity-silent frameworks: novel vistas on the cellular basis of working memory. In Annals of the New York Academy of Sciences (Vol. 1464, Issue 1, pp. 64–75).

Kamiński, J., Brzezicka, A., Mamelak, A. N., & Rutishauser, U. (2020). Combined Phase-Rate Coding by Persistently Active Neurons as a Mechanism for Maintaining Multiple Items in Working Memory in Humans. Neuron, 106(2), 256-264.e3.

Kamiński, J., Mamelak, A. N., Birch, K., Mosher, C. P., Tagliati, M., & Rutishauser, U. (2018). Novelty-Sensitive Dopaminergic Neurons in the Human Substantia Nigra Predict Success of Declarative Memory Formation. Current Biology, 28(9), 1333-1343.e4.

Kamiński, J. (2017). Intermediate-Term Memory as a Bridge between Working and Long-Term Memory. The Journal of Neuroscience, 37(20), 5045–5047.

Kamiński, J., Sullivan, S., Chung, J. M., Ross, I. B., Mamelak, A. N., & Rutishauser, U. (2017). Persistently active neurons in human medial frontal and medial temporal lobe support working memory. Nature Neuroscience, 20(4), 590–601.