Papers
3
Total Citations
59
H-Index
2
About
Michel Akselrod is a pioneering researcher at the intersection of robotics, neuroscience, and psychiatry, whose work fundamentally advances our understanding of how sensorimotor conflicts shape perception and self-awareness. His primary research areas include the neural mechanisms of hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease, the sense of body ownership and agency, and the use of robotic systems to probe altered states of consciousness. Akselrod’s major contribution is the development of a robotics-based approach that induces presence hallucinations—the feeling of another person being nearby—by applying conflicting sensorimotor stimulation. This breakthrough, detailed in his most-cited paper (51 citations), revealed that such hallucinations in Parkinson’s disease depend on disrupted processing in the fronto-temporal network, offering a novel experimental model for psychosis and dementia. His work on interaction force (6 citations) further disentangles the contributions of tactile and motor signals to the sense of hand ownership and agency, providing critical insights into the construction of bodily self-awareness. Through innovative robotics-fMRI studies, Akselrod bridges engineering and clinical neuroscience, offering tools to explore passivity experiences and hallucinations in both healthy and patient populations. His research not only illuminates fundamental mechanisms of perception but also opens new avenues for diagnosing and treating neuropsychiatric symptoms.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
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