Franziska Thinnes-Elker

Bernstein Center for Computational Neuroscience Freiburg

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About

Franziska Thinnes-Elker is a leading researcher in the philosophy and neuroscience of intention, with a particular focus on the conceptual foundations of brain-machine interfacing. Her most-cited work, "Intention Concepts and Brain-Machine Interfacing" (2012, 17 citations), critically examines how different types of intentions—varying in temporal properties and semantic content—are investigated in human neuroscience. She highlights that the diversity in neural response topographies across studies may stem from conflating distinct intention concepts, a clarification essential for developing reliable brain-machine interfaces. Thinnes-Elker’s contributions bridge cognitive science and neuroethics, offering a nuanced framework that informs both experimental design and the ethical deployment of neurotechnologies. Her work has been influential in shaping interdisciplinary discussions on how to operationalize intention in neural decoding, with implications for assistive technologies and neuroprosthetics. By sharpening the conceptual tools used to study intention, she has helped advance more rigorous and translatable research in cognitive neuroscience.