Theory of Mind & Semantic Encoding - Ziv Williams, MD and Mohsen Jamali, MD, PhD

In this episode, we explore Theory of Mind and Semantic Encoding. Dr. Williams and Dr. Jamali walk us through their research that involves recording the activity of individual neurons in awake patients undergoing surgery for deep brain stimulation. We discuss how the brain tracks other people's beliefs, how neurons encode the meaning of words and sentences, and what this tells us about the nature of language and social cognition. We explore how this research intersects with artificial intelligence — including whether large language models can pass a Theory of Mind test — and how these discoveries will help with the development of brain-computer interfaces for speech restoration in patients affected by paralysis or stroke.

Dr. Ziv Williams is an Associate Professor of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital. Dr. Williams’ lab (Ziv Lab) explores the basic neural computations that underlie motor and cognitive behavior, and how they relate to disorders such as motor paralysis, Alzheimer’s disease and autism. Dr. Williams completed his MD at Stanford University School of Medicine, followed by residency at Massachusetts General Hospital and fellowship at the Mayo Clinic Foundation.

Dr. Mohsen Jamali is an Assistant Professor of Neurosurgery at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School, with training spanning medicine, neuroscience, and mathematics. His research uses single-neuron recordings in humans to study the neural underpinnings of social behavior and language. He is a recipient of the Banting Postdoctoral Fellowship, the NARSAD Young Investigator Grant, and the 2022 Daniel X. Freedman Award.