BRAIN MODULATION LAB
HUMAN SYSTEMS NEUROSCIENCE
The Brain Modulation Lab was founded at the University of Pittsburgh in 2011 and moved to the MGH in 2019. We are a human systems neuroscience lab studying brain electrophysiology and cognition in patients undergoing surgery for epilepsy, movement disorders, and psychiatric diseases. The overall goal of our work is to facilitate the development and optimization of electrical and biological brain modulation therapies, by filling critical gaps in our understanding of human brain function.
BRAIN MODULATION LAB TEAM
Mark Richardson, MD, PhD, FAANS
Director of Functional Neurosurgery, MGH
Visiting Associate Professor of Brain and Cognitive Sciences, MIT
Vasileios Kokkinos, PhD
Instructor in Neurosurgery, MGH
Alan Bush, PhD
Instructor in Neurosurgery, MGH
Varun Saravanan, PhD
Data Scientist
Helweh Hussein, MD
Postdoctoral Fellow
Nora Daly, MSHS, PA-C
Physician Assistant
Irene Lerman, MS
Senior Clinical Research Coordinator
Mikaela St. Laurent, MS
Clinical Patient Care Coordinator
Sonika Agarwal, BS
Clinical Research Coordinator
This image, brain on holiday, is used with permission of the artist, Alberto Ruggieri
AREAS OF INVESTIGATION
PAGes
under
construction
Basal Ganglia-Basal Ganglia-Cortical Dynamics in Human Behavior
Intraoperatively, we collect task-based, simultaneously recorded cortical ECoG and subcortical MER/LFP data to study interactions between the cortex and basal ganglia that code for specific components of motor action.
BRAIN Initiative-funded Project:
Closed-Loop DBS for Parkinson's Disease
BRAIN Initiative-funded Project:
Brain Stimulation for Epilepsy
The lab's initial work involved sensing-enabled DBS (PC+S and RC+S) in a nonhuman primate with idiopathic epilepsy. Subsequently, in order to better understand data recorded during responsive neurostimulation in our epilepsy patients, we built BRAINStim, a platform for Biophysically Rational Analysis and Informed Stimulation.
Thier Building, 4th floor
Massachusetts General Hospital
50 Blossom St.
Boston, MA 02114