Tools and Techniques for Electrical and Optical Stimulation and Recording from the Nervous System

神经系统是意识的本质，是我们与周围事物互动的方式。它的复杂和优雅令人惊讶，尽管科学家们已经对它研究了几个世纪，但关于神经系统，我们还有很多不知道的东西。这一知识至关重要的一个原因是，要修复一些东西，一个人必须理解它。因此，当神经系统出现问题时，无论是神经的身体损伤，还是表面上看不到的精神健康问题，医学界都需要了解潜在的原因，以便以最佳方式进行治疗。研究神经系统的科学家经常使用动物模型，因为它们允许一种简化和专注的方法。这需要专门的工具和技术来测量和操纵神经系统。我的研究项目专注于设计、实施和测试电子和光学设备以及在常用的小动物模型(如大鼠和小鼠)中研究神经系统的方法。 这项应用侧重于三个领域的技术开发：损伤后神经的再生，来自大脑深处的信号的光学测量，以及从测量的光学信号中分离伪像。一段时间以来，人们已经知道，对损伤后恢复的神经进行电刺激可以改善其结果。然而，这是如何或为什么起作用的尚不清楚，也没有关于应用哪种刺激、何时应用以及应用多长时间的明确指导方针。我的团队正在创造可植入的设备，可以刺激和监测神经的恢复，这是一种可以被我们的神经外科医生合作者用于神经恢复研究的工具。第二个和第三个目标侧重于大脑表面深处的功能，如对运动活动的精细控制和对压力的反应。用于研究大脑的光学工具有几个优点，但很难应用于大脑深层区域，而且容易受到不良伪影的影响。我们将创造光学工具来观察和操纵难以进入大脑深处的区域，并设计技术来减少伪影的影响。我们的临床医生和科学家合作伙伴可以将这些技术用于他们的研究，为帕金森氏症和震颤等运动性疾病设计更好的治疗方法，并试图理解为什么大多数人可以从应激性事件中迅速恢复，而有些人则遭受慢性不良影响。 通过拟议的工作，研究生和本科生将获得电子、光学、信号处理和生物学方面的跨学科技能，使他们能够弥合科学家和工程师之间的差距。新的测量和仪器技术将被创造出来。这些将导致对大脑功能的更好了解，这对于改善神经系统疾病患者的生活质量的最佳治疗是必要的。

The nervous system is the essence of consciousness, and is how we interact with everything around us. It is astonishing in its complexity and elegance, and although scientists have been studying it for centuries, there is much that we do not know about the nervous system. One reason this knowledge is critical is because to fix something, one has to understand it. Thus, when something goes wrong with the nervous system be it physical injury to nerves, or mental health problems that may be outwardly invisible the medical community needs to understand the underlying cause to optimally treat it. Scientists studying the nervous system frequently use animal models because they allow a simplified and focused approach. This needs specialized tools and techniques to measure from and manipulate the nervous system. My research program focuses on designing, implementing and testing electronic and optical devices and methods for studying the nervous system in commonly used small animal models like rats and mice. This application focuses on technology development for three areas: regeneration of nerves after injury, optical measurement of signals from deep inside the brain and separating artifacts from the measured optical signals. It has been known for some time that applying electrical stimulation to a nerve recovering from injury can improve its outcome. However, how or why this works is unknown, and there are no clear guidelines about what kind of stimulation to apply, when, and how long to apply it for. My group is creating implantable devices that can stimulate and also monitor the nerve's recovery, a tool that can be used by our neurosurgeon collaborators for their studies into nerve recovery. The second and third aims focus on brain functions that occur deep beneath its surface such as the fine control of motor activity and the response to stress. Optical tools for studying the brain have several advantages, but are very difficult to apply to deep brain areas and are susceptible to undesirable artifacts. We will create optical tools for observing and manipulating hard to access deep brain areas and design techniques to reduce the effects of artifacts. Our clinician-scientist collaborators can use such technologies for their studies into designing better treatments for motor diseases like Parkinson's disease and tremor, and for trying to understand why most people can recover quickly from a stressful event, while some suffer from chronic adverse effects. With the work proposed, graduate and undergraduate students will gain interdisciplinary skills in electronics, optics, signal processing, and biology, enabling them to bridge gaps between scientists and engineers. New measurement and instrumentation technologies will be created. These will lead to a better understanding of brain function, necessary for optimal treatments to improve the quality of life of those suffering from diseases of the nervous system.