Neurophysiology

Enhanced understanding of central nervous system function in health and disease drives the research and training agendas of Department faculty specialists in clinical and experimental neurophysiology. Utilizing the imaging and mapping techniques of electroencephalography, electromyography, functional MRI, and evoked potentials, these faculty aim to improve diagnosis of disease and monitoring of disease progression through measurement of the electrical activity of the brain, spinal cord, nerves, and muscles at all levels of function, from the membrane and cell to systems and behavior.

Areas and issues of ongoing investigation include the fundamental role of the cerebellum in human brain functioning, proceeding from earlier findings that attention and motor performance independently activate distinct cerebellar regions; the electrophysiological correlates of human memory function and memory impairment; how growth factors modulate alterations in neuronal structure and function to physically represent experience (memory) in cortical neuronal systems; the ability of cells and growth factors to promote regeneration after acute and chronic spinal cord injury; and the fundamental mechanisms of brain development, including neurogenesis, neuronal migration, and neuronal connectivity.

Research
Nayan P. Desai, MD
Vicente J. Iragui-Madoz, MD, PhD
Geoffrey L. Sheean, MD, MBBS