Maggie Szymanska
@maggieszymanska.bsky.social
PhD student at the Plasticity Lab, MRC CBU, University of Cambridge (@plasticity-lab.bsky.social), working on phantom limb pain and brain reorganisation post amputation. Crocheting, reading and travelling when I can!
Kids with congenital limb difference showed incredible versatility in how they use their bodies. While most people rely on hands, these kids creatively use feet, legs, or even their torsos! This "co-use complexity" was much higher in kids than in adults, highlighting a rich period of adaptation.
Our new paper is finally out!
Raffa@raffatucca.bsky.social · 7mo agoWe're thrilled to announce that our new research article, "Global remapping of the sensory homunculus emerges early in childhood development”, has just been published in Nature Communications (www.nature.com/articles/s41...) with @dorothycowie.bsky.social and Matej Hoffman.
Really delighted to announce that our paper is now out! We fMRI scanned patients both before amputation and after - allowing us to make direct comparisons. We found that the cortical maps are extremely stable, almost unchanged - even 5 years after amputation!
Hunter Schone@hunterschone.bsky.social · last yr.Now out in @natneuro.nature.com What happens to the brain’s body map when a body-part is removed? Scanning patients before and up to 5 yrs after arm amputation, we discovered the brain’s body map is strikingly preserved despite amputation www.nature.com/articles/s41593-025-02037-7 🧵1/18
Presenting my poster on pain learning and Phantom Limb Pain today at #IMRF2025 at 3.30pm. Come find me at #21 to chat about how amputees learn painful cues across different environments and in active/passive conditions 🧠
Great start to #IMRF2025 with Symposium 2 all about body representation and some amazing talks! Really enjoyed hearing about how sounds can affect it, e.g. with the auditory pinocchio illusion 🔊, something quite different than what I work on but so fun!
Really inspiring to work with these 2 amazing women rocking it at the UN AI For Good summit! 😍
Plasticity Lab@plasticity-lab.bsky.social · last yr.Exciting day at the fascinating UN #AIforGood summit! @daniclode.bsky.social presented on designing for augmentation and the Third Thumb, Tamar then presented our research looking at the neural embodiment of robotic limbs! Smashing it 🦾
Sad to say goodbye to #BRNet2025. Lovely community where I learnt so much!! Looking forward to next year 👀
Plasticity Lab@plasticity-lab.bsky.social · last yr.Our PhD students @maggieszymanska.bsky.social and Julien Russ ready to present their posters today at #BRNet2025! Find them in the poster room at 2pm, talking about phantom limb pain and using EMG to control the Third Thumb 🧠
Having a great time in Utrecht at #BRNet2025! Today, our very talented postdoc @celiafoster.bsky.social and amazing PhD student Ema Jugovic presented their posters. Really great work showcasing our new Third Thumb studies 🧠
Great talk by Matej Hoffman starting off Day 2 of #BRNet2025. Really exciting to see our BOLDkids research on congenital limb difference mentioned as well! Also - what an amazing venue 😊
Really cool work from Lucy Dowdall!
Lucy Dowdall@lucydowdall.bsky.social · last yr.Excited to share our new interdisciplinary work exploring the sensory representation of an artificial body part, combing datasets and methodologies to explore sensorimotor integration of the Third Thumb, a 2 DoF hand augmentation device (@daniclode.bsky.social) doi.org/10.1101/2025.06.16.658246
Had a blast working on this amazing project and the pre-print is now out 🎉! Interested in sensory remapping? We tested congenital limb difference children and adults to investigate how their brains differ and what role compensatory behaviour in childhood has on remapping 🧠 Read more in the thread!
Plasticity Lab@plasticity-lab.bsky.social · 2y agoWe’re thrilled to share our new research article, "Shaping the developing homunculus: the roles of deprivation and compensatory behaviour in sensory remapping on bioRxiv: rebrand.ly/qbz6nal with @dorothycowie.bsky.social
Great talk by our amazing postdoc @celiafoster.bsky.social at the #CBUMethodsDay! She introduced motion tracking methods available in neuroscience 🧠 and showed how she is setting up a real-time 3D motion tracking using a portable stereo camera! 🎥 It's a great way of tracking the third thumb!
Introduction post! Hi 👋! I'm a 2nd year PhD working on phantom limb pain, using behavioural and neuroimaging techniques. Currently piloting my new TMS experiment where we try and elicit phantom sensations, measuring MEPs and decision making 🧠! Love to travel, read and crochet when I find the time! 💛
