Next-gen EEG could help bring back lost brain function

SLAC and Stanford researchers are developing a device that combines electrical brain stimulation with EEG recording, opening potential new paths for treating neurological disorders. A device under development at the Department of Energy's SLAC National Accelerator Laboratory and Stanford University could help bring back lost brain function by measuring how the brain responds to therapies that stimulate it with electric current. The approach could open new avenues for treating brain disorders and selectively switching brain activities on and off, says Anthony Norcia , a professor of psychology at Stanford who initiated the project. Neurostimulation via electrodes placed on the scalp shows a lot of promise, but its immediate effects are hard to study because the brain's neural response gets easily swamped by the million times stronger pulses that researchers send into the brain. To detect the much fainter brain response, scientists had to monitor brain waves and behavioral response in separate sessions before and after stimulation. The new device measures brain waves at practically the same time the stimulus is applied, potentially establishing a much better link between the two. "The device works similar to radar, which sends out electromagnetic waves and passively listens for the weaker reflected waves," says SLAC senior scientist Christopher Kenney.