Monitor Neural Activity

DBS therapy for Parkinson Disease [PD], the primary, FDA-approved surgical approach, has proven efficacious in clinical trials. However, this continuous stimulation therapy is limited to treatment of a subset of motor symptoms (i.e., tremor, rigidity, bradykinesia and dyskinesias) and requires considerable postoperative clinical adjustment to treat symptoms. Improvements to DBS for PD are being tested, including changes in patterns of stimulation, additional targets, and multiple electrodes.

PROJECT SUMMARY / ABSTRACT Functional MRI (fMRI) is today the predominant tool for noninvasive imaging of brain function, which has revolutionized our understanding of the human brain. To date, echo-planar imaging (EPI) has been the standard fMRI acquisition method, but suffers from intrinsic limitations such as static and dynamic distortion, image/contrast blurring, signal voids, suboptimal CNR and physiological noises.

Despite widespread clinical use, the theoretical framework by which to understand safety of electrical stimulation through implanted electrodes is surprisingly limited. Most of our current understanding of stimulation safety was phenomenologically determined in the 80s and 90s using very limited electrode geometries, materials, stimulation systems, and stimulation locations.

A central goal of neuroscience is to discover how neural circuits control the body’s muscles to produce behavior. However, despite recent advances in tools for studying brain activity, methods for examining the signals that actually control behavior – spiking activity in muscle fibers – have advanced little since the 1950s, fundamentally limiting our understanding of how the brain controls the body. By combining our expertise in electrophysiology (Dr. Sober) and engineering (Dr.

Essential tremor (ET) is a common neurologic disorder affecting over 10 million people in the United States. Pathologic synchrony in the cerebello-thalamo-cortical (CTC) network has been considered to underlie the development of ET. Traditional high frequency isochronal deep brain stimulation (T-DBS) in the ventral intermediate nucleus (VIM) of the thalamus has been an effective treatment for ET, however, stimulation related side effects such as dysarthria and ataxia occur in at least 30% of patients.

The goal of this project is to develop a Wireless, fully Implantable, bidirectional Cortical Neuroprosthetic System (W-ICONS) for restoring sensorimotor function through an interface with intact upper limb areas of primary motor and sensory cortex. Technologies that enable direct communication to and from the brain have increasingly shown promise for restoring independence to people affected by high spinal cord injuries.

This study proposes to refine, integrate and disseminate the NeuroImaging Brain Chart (NIBCh) software toolbox and machine learning (ML) model library, an ecosystem of software components enabling constructive integration, statistical harmonization, and ML-centric data analyses across studies. NIBCh enables large-scale analyses of multi-modal brain MRI data by mapping such data into a compact coordinate system of informative neuroimaging signatures implemented by our library of ML models.

This proposal describes a five-year career development program to prepare the candidate, Dr. Nan Xu, for a career as independent investigator at a major academic research institute, with the expertise of modeling dynamics of brain causal system to provide novel insights into the basic pathophysiology of neurologic disorders. This proposal develops upon Dr.

Project Abstract Current common methods for measuring somatosensory function in preclinical rodent models generally rely on withdrawal responses to uncomfortable or painful stimuli. These tests can be stressful to the animal, while also yielding a high variability in measured responses, and repetitive testing in longitudinal models may even result in chronic pain states. To better understand the connection between physiology and perception of touch and proprioception, researchers need a modern, off-the-shelf assessment system to administer and quantify trained, volitional behaviors.

Project Summary Intracortical microstimulation (ICMS) of the sensory cortices is an emerging approach to restore sensation to people who have lost it due to neurological injury or disease. ICMS of somatosensory cortex has been used in clinical trials to restore sensation to the hands of people with spinal cord injury and, more recently, was used to restore vision to a person with blindness. The sensations evoked by ICMS are dependent on the stimulated electrode and selected parameters.