Chaos Control of Nonlinear Electrical Activity in the Brain

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9900350MogulEpileptic seizures are a common disease that afflicts over 2.5 million Americans. These seizures represent a disorder of the electrical state of the brain that can sometimes be prevented with pharmaceutical treatment; however, over 25% of epilepsy patients cannot be helped by antiepileptic drugs. For these patients in whom seizures are sufficiently severe, the only remaining option is surgical removal of brain tissue which can sometimes result in severe neurological deficits. The ultimate goal of the research described in this proposal is to understand these nonlinear electrical states of the brain such that it would be possible to engineer a less invasive and potentially far less damaging alternative to surgery for drug-refractory epilepsy patients. The overall goal is to engineer a device similar in concept to an implantable cardiac defribrillator in that it would detect the earliest stages of a seizure and prevent or revert it using electrical stimulation. This research requires exploration in diverse but related fields such as nonlinear chaos theory and computer programming as well as expertise in experimental biology. Experiments will be focused on the hippocampus, a region of the brain that is a frequent foci for generation of epileptiform electical activity. Initial experiments will perform nonlinear mathematical analysis and testing of control algorithms on rat hippocampal slices which can be induced to produce spontaneous discharges analogous to epileptic behavior seen in whole animals. Electrical stimulation will be applied via an electrode according to control algorithms to revert the bursting. Subsequent experiments will then take these findings and apply them to in vivo studies in rats to see whether the same dynamics and control principles apply as in the slice and, if not, how these control algorithms could be modified appropriately. Recent advances in understanding and controlling chaotic systems have provided an invaluable opportunity to apply these principles toward manipulation of pathological electrical activity in the brain. It would ultimately permit the ability to prevent or revert seizures in the brain which would have enormous benefits to public health as well as overall cost savings to society.