Papers
5
Total Citations
196
H-Index
4
About
Paulina Kieliba is a neuroscientist whose research sits at the fascinating intersection of motor augmentation, neural plasticity, and human-machine interfaces. Her work primarily investigates how the brain adapts when humans are equipped with extra robotic limbs, with a particular focus on the neural and cognitive consequences of body augmentation. Her most influential study, "Robotic hand augmentation drives changes in neural body representation" (2021, 160 citations), demonstrated that the brain can reorganize its body map to accommodate an additional robotic thumb, revealing remarkable neuroplastic capacity in healthy adults. This landmark finding has significantly shaped how researchers think about augmentation feasibility and brain adaptability. Kieliba has also made important contributions to understanding somatosensory feedback in artificial limb control, showing that intrinsic sensory signals from the body parts operating a device meaningfully support motor learning and control — a finding with strong implications for prosthetics design. Her earlier technical work on hand pose reconstruction using inertial sensors reflects a grounding in applied instrumentation that enriches her neuroscientific investigations. Taken together, Kieliba's research provides critical evidence that successful human augmentation depends not just on engineering innovation, but on how our brains learn to integrate new tools as extensions of the self.
Research Focus
Key Achievements
Top Papers
- 1Robotic hand augmentation drives changes in neural body representation160 citations · 2021
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- 3Neurocognitive consequences of hand augmentation9 citations · 2020
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