The reading track

Reading is a thread, not a phase: a chapter and a paper a week, every week, attached to whatever you are building. The backbone is Kandel’s Principles of Neural Science in the order that matches the site. Around it, one text per spine, the papers that each phase’s explainers cite, and a monthly skim of two journals. The five-line summary habit from Phase 0 turns all of it into a searchable file that becomes your first literature review.

The backbone

KandelPrinciples of Neural ScienceKandel, Koester, Mack, et al. · McGraw Hill · 2021The reference text of neuroscience, read a chapter a week in the site order for about a year., a chapter a week, in the site’s order. The sixth edition is about $152 new; a used fifth is about$70, and nothing we need moved between them. About a year.

One text per spine

Hardware: Horowitz and Hill, The Art of ElectronicsThe Art of ElectronicsHorowitz, Hill · Cambridge University Press · 2015The hardware spine bible, with the op-amp, noise, and precision chapters behind your amplifier.. Read the op-amp, precision, and noise chapters in Phase 2; the rest as needed for life. Webster’s Medical InstrumentationMedical Instrumentation, Application and DesignWebster (ed.) · Wiley · 2009The classic on biopotential amplifiers, electrodes, and electrical safety, old and still right. for biopotential amplifiers and electrodesElectrode The conductor that turns ion currents in tissue into electron currents in a wire; its chemistry and contact quality set the noise you live with. Related: Silver/silver-chloride (Ag/AgCl)Silver/silver-chloride (Ag/AgCl) The standard electrode material for biopotentials, because its chemistry produces a stable, low-noise, low-drift interface with salty gel. , Electrode impedanceElectrode impedance How hard it is to push current through the skin-electrode contact, typically 5 to 50 kilohms with gel and megohms dry, higher at low frequencies. , Half-cell potentialHalf-cell potential The DC voltage that appears wherever a metal meets an electrolyte; two electrodes with different half-cell potentials produce an offset that can swamp the signal. . Glossary entry specifically.

Decoding: Rao, Brain-Computer InterfacingBrain-Computer Interfacing, An IntroductionRao · Cambridge University Press · 2013The best single textbook introduction to BCI, from signals to decoders to ethics., cover to cover in Phase 3. Then Cohen, Analyzing Neural Time Series DataAnalyzing Neural Time Series DataCohen · MIT Press · 2014The practical guide to time-frequency analysis with code, paired with free video lectures., for the signal processing with code. Then Bishop’s Pattern Recognition and Machine LearningPattern Recognition and Machine LearningBishop · Springer · 2006The classifiers behind the decoders, free as a PDF from the author, read selectively., selectively, for the classifiersClassifier An algorithm that assigns each trial a label, such as left hand or right hand, after being trained on labelled examples. Related: Linear discriminant analysis (LDA)Linear discriminant analysis (LDA) A simple, robust classifier that draws a straight boundary between classes; the workhorse of EEG decoding for two decades. , Support vector machine (SVM)Support vector machine (SVM) A classifier that finds the boundary with the widest margin between classes; strong on small datasets. , Cross-validationCross-validation Testing a model on data it never saw during training, repeatedly, so the reported accuracy means something. . Glossary entry.

Computational neuroscience: Dayan and Abbott, Theoretical NeuroscienceTheoretical NeuroscienceDayan, Abbott · MIT Press · 2001The standard computational neuroscience text, dense and rewarding, about $40 in paperback; the authors' page has a sample chapter only., alongside Phase 4 and Neuromatch; the paperback is about $40 and the authors’ page has one sample chapter, not the book. Sterratt et al.Principles of Computational Modelling in NeuroscienceSterratt, Graham, Gillies, et al. · Cambridge University Press · 2011A gentler on-ramp to modelling than Dayan and Abbott, with worked examples. as the gentler on-ramp. Buzsáki’s Rhythms of the BrainRhythms of the BrainBuzsaki · Oxford University Press · 2006Dense and opinionated on where brain rhythms come from, and the standard on the subject. for the oscillations.

Electrophysiology: Johnston and Wu, Foundations of Cellular NeurophysiologyFoundations of Cellular NeurophysiologyJohnston, Wu · MIT Press · 1994The deep end on channels, cables, and synaptic physiology for the electrophysiology spine., plus the Axon GuideThe Axon Guide, Electrophysiology and Biophysics Laboratory TechniquesSherman-Gold (ed.) · Molecular Devices · 2012The practical side of patch clamp, free from the company that makes the amplifiers. (free from Molecular Devices) for the practical side of patch clamp.

Materials: He (ed.), Neural EngineeringNeural EngineeringHe (ed.) · Springer · 2020Graduate-level survey chapters across the field, read the ones that match your spine., the electrodeElectrode The conductor that turns ion currents in tissue into electron currents in a wire; its chemistry and contact quality set the noise you live with. Related: Silver/silver-chloride (Ag/AgCl)Silver/silver-chloride (Ag/AgCl) The standard electrode material for biopotentials, because its chemistry produces a stable, low-noise, low-drift interface with salty gel. , Electrode impedanceElectrode impedance How hard it is to push current through the skin-electrode contact, typically 5 to 50 kilohms with gel and megohms dry, higher at low frequencies. , Half-cell potentialHalf-cell potential The DC voltage that appears wherever a metal meets an electrolyte; two electrodes with different half-cell potentials produce an offset that can swamp the signal. . Glossary entry and implant chapters; the Merrill, Bikson, and Jefferys reviewElectrical stimulation of excitable tissue, design of efficacious and safe protocolsMerrill, Bikson, Jefferys · J. Neurosci. Methods · 2005The stimulation safety review everyone in neuromodulation has read, covering charge, chemistry, and damage.; and the review papers cited in the Phase 6 explainers.

Clinical and regulatory: Zenios, Makower, Yock, BiodesignBiodesign Stanford's process for medical technology innovation that starts from an observed clinical need rather than a technology looking for a use. Related: Needs findingNeeds finding Observing clinical work to catch the moments that are slow, awkward, or unsafe, before proposing any solution. , Need statementNeed statement One sentence, "a way to [do X] for [whom] that [outcome]," with no solution in it. . Glossary entryBiodesign, The Process of Innovating Medical TechnologiesZenios, Makower, Yock · Cambridge University Press · 2015The textbook of needs-driven device innovation, and the method behind Phase 5.. Luck’s ERPEvent-related potential (ERP) The small, stereotyped voltage waveform the brain produces in response to an event, invisible in a single trial and revealed by averaging many. Related: P300P300 A positive bump about 300 milliseconds after a rare or meaningful stimulus, the basis of the classic BCI speller. , N170N170 A negative deflection about 170 milliseconds after seeing a face, over the back of the head on the right. , Error-related negativity (ERN)Error-related negativity (ERN) A sharp negative wave about 50 to 100 milliseconds after you make a mistake, before you consciously notice. , Trial averagingTrial averaging Adding many time-locked epochs together so the consistent response grows and the random noise shrinks by the square root of the number of trials. . Glossary entry bookAn Introduction to the Event-Related Potential TechniqueLuck · MIT Press · 2014Everything about running and analyzing ERP experiments without fooling yourself. for experiments. The FDA guidances, which are free and readable.

Papers, by phase

Each explainer’s “where this shows up” strip names the two or three papers behind it. Reading those, one a week, tracks the site. In Phase 1 and 2, read for the instruments. In Phase 3, read for the methods and especially the cross-validationCross-validation Testing a model on data it never saw during training, repeatedly, so the reported accuracy means something. Related: Data leakageData leakage Information from the test set sneaking into training, for example by shuffling trials from one session across both; it inflates accuracy and is the most common flaw in student BCI papers. , OverfittingOverfitting A model that has memorized its training data, including its noise, and fails on anything new. . Glossary entry paragraph. In Phase 4 and after, read for the ideas. Write the five lines every time.

Journals, monthly

Skim the tables of contents of the Journal of Neural Engineering and IEEE Transactions on Neural Systems and Rehabilitation Engineering every month; read one paper from each properly. Add Nature Neuroscience and Neuron abstracts in Phase 4. Add the Journal of Neurosurgery and Brain Stimulation in Phase 6 if the clinical or neuromodulation direction calls.

For pleasure, and motivation

Nicolelis, Beyond BoundariesBeyond BoundariesNicolelis · Times Books · 2011A first-person history of BCI research by one of its founders, read for the story. (a BCIBrain-computer interface (BCI) A system that turns measured brain activity into control of something outside the body, from a cursor to a wheelchair to a speech synthesizer. Related: DecoderDecoder The algorithm that maps neural signals to intended actions, such as a classifier or a Kalman filter. , Closed loopClosed loop A system in which the output feeds back to influence the input, such as a user adjusting their brain activity while watching the cursor it controls. . Glossary entry founder’s memoir). Eagleman, LivewiredLivewiredEagleman · Pantheon · 2020Plasticity and sensory substitution for a general reader, good motivation for Phase 5. (plasticity for a general reader). Mukherjee, The Emperor of All MaladiesThe Emperor of All MaladiesMukherjee · Scribner · 2010Not neuro, but the best account of how a field learns, which is what the reading file is for. (not neuro; how a field learns). Carreyrou, Bad BloodBad BloodCarreyrou · Knopf · 2018What device and diagnostic hype does to patients, the cautionary tale for Phase 5 claims. (what device and diagnostic hype does to patients). Gawande, The Checklist ManifestoThe Checklist ManifestoGawande · Metropolitan Books · 2009Why process saves lives, which is design controls in another guise. (why process saves lives, which is design controlsDesign controls FDA's required process for developing a medical device: user needs, requirements, design, verification, validation, and the records of all of it. Related: Design history file (DHF)Design history file (DHF) The complete record of how a device was designed, showing every requirement traced to a test; writing a mock one teaches more than any lecture. , RequirementsRequirements Testable statements of what the device must do, such as "input-referred noise below 1 microvolt RMS from 0.5 to 40 Hz." , VerificationVerification Testing that the device meets its requirements; did you build what you specified. , ValidationValidation Testing that the device meets the user's need in real use; did you specify the right thing. . Glossary entry in another guise). Sacks, anything, for the patients.

The file

One text file, in date order, five lines per paper or chapter: citation, claim, evidence, doubt, use. After a year it is the fastest way to find that paper you half remember; after three it is the literature review of your first poster; after four it is the thing a graduate program or a company asks you about when they realize you have read two hundred papers properly.