Advancements in science necessitate theories, to make sense of observations and to predict new observations, but also sensitive methods to enable observations at the right scale. As we need a telescope to look at the galaxy far away, we need methods to record and perturb the human brain at multiple scales from the level of networks, areas, cortical layers, columns, and single units. Our lab aims to advance methods for human neuroscience across these scales. In collaboration with researchers at Comprehensive Epilepsy Center (CEC) at NYU, CMRR, and Maastricht University we aim to develop a neurovascular model with laminar resolution to enable non-invasive observations of the in-vivo activity across the cortical layers (Brain Initiative Funded, R01). We also aim to better understand how information is processed and transferred across cortical layers by using invasive laminar recordings in collaboration with researchers at NYU, UCSD, Columbia University and Lorand Eotvos Research Network. Long-term recordings from brain areas, and in particular deep brain structures, will open the possibility to investigate how the brain changes as a function of learning and memory. To this end we perform long-term recordings in the human hippocampus by using the Responsive Neurostimulator (RNS), a new therapeutical device for treatment of drug-resistant epilepsy (publication here). Finally, causal manipulation (perturbations) are critical to understanding any physical system such as the brain. We have investigated the neurophysiological effect of transcranial electrical stimulation (publication here) and the behavioral effects of closed-loop acoustic stimulation for memory (publication here).

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