Research

Our research program uses a multidisciplinary approach that incorporates clinical, basic and translational research to study the neurophysiological basis of neurological diseases and surgical procedures used to treat them.

We run an NIH-sponsored multicenter clinical trial investigating deep brain stimulation (DBS) for the treatment of Parkinson’s disease (PD) and will soon conduct another clinical trial of DBS for the treatment of dystonia. We also study the neurophysiological basis for these disorders via recordings from single neurons in awake patients undergoing DBS implantation. Our laboratory also uses nonhuman primates to study the pathophysiological basis of PD and the neural mechanisms of DBS. With collaborators in Biomedical Engineering, we are exploring how different patterns of electrical stimulation alter the effectiveness of DBS therapy.

We are also involved in the development of novel DBS techniques that use closed-loop control of electrical stimulation. Finally, we are developing models of dystonia and addiction to allow us to understand the pathophysiological basis for these neurological disorders and provide a rationale for the development of surgical treatments for these disorders.

Several of our research endeavors involve collaborative efforts with investigators at other institutions, including the University of Maryland, on developing a novel intra-operative guidance system for DBS.

We also work with researchers at the University of Michigan to develop chronically implantable high-density microelectrode cortical recording arrays.