pte20230308030 technology/digitization, medicine/wellness
Researchers at the University of California, Los Angeles see an opportunity for therapies once morest epilepsy
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A look inside the electronic innards of the “Neuro-stack” (Photo: Topalovic et al) |
Los Angeles (pte030/08.03.2023/12:30) –
The portable electronic device “Neuro-stack” is just as big as a game of skat University of California, Los Angeles, which records the activity of individual neurons in a person’s brain as they go regarding their normal activities. Research director Dejan Markovic believes that the innovation might be of decisive help in the therapy of brain diseases.
Experiments with epileptics
Markovic and his colleagues first tested their device in the laboratory. After validating the design, experts conducted a series of real-world assessments on patients diagnosed with epilepsy. These patients, following undergoing surgery, wore some electrodes deep in their brains to treat their epileptic seizures.
Using Neuro-stack, the team successfully recorded the activity of individual neurons in these patients’ brains at high resolution and delivered precisely timed electrical stimulation. To do this, the electrodes are strategically placed in the brain. These stimulations can be programmed easily and remotely to study or treat specific brain conditions.
For research and therapy
Neuro-stack is expected to help advance research into the neurophysiological basis of human disease and potentially enable more advanced neuromodulation therapies for brain diseases. “Ultimately, we envision minimally invasive implants that are widely accessible,” emphasizes Markovic.
“Put simply, the device listens to the brain and talks to it,” says Markovic. His ability to observe individual neurons in freely moving people is unique. Such investigations have so far only been possible in animal experiments, the results of which cannot be extrapolated to humans. With Neuro-stack it is even possible to decode live neural activity when a participant completes a simple memory task. So you can see which neurons are activated to get the result.
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