Neural Engineering Seminar
Wickenden 321
Speaker: Cedric Levi
Advisor: Prof. Durand
Title: Virtual Grounding an Epileptic Focus to Prevent the Propagation of Epileptic Activity
Abstract: Epilepsy is a brain disorder that affects approximately 65 million people globally. People with epilepsy experience a range of symptoms including loss of consciousness, amnesia, depression, temporary paralysis, convulsions, and in extreme cases death. 60% of epileptic seizures are focal, characterized by their generation and subsequent propagation from a single point. Our lab’s prior research used a degenerative feedback loop to record and reduce the amplitude of focal seizures by applying an equal and opposite voltage. This successfully voltage clamped the focal point at zero volts, preventing epileptic signal propagation. Though efficacious, the protocol to achieve target effects was extensively complicated and difficult to maneuver due to stimulating electrode orientation sensitivity.
My research utilizes a simplified circuit, requiring a single electrode relative to the four three used in the previous design to improve consistency and potential clinical translatability. Given sufficient gain, the electrode creates a virtual ground at the focus through degenerative feedback, effectively preventing epileptic signal propagation. Our lab has accomplished success in preliminary bench/bath testing using this new circuit design and will soon move on to preliminary in-vitro experimentation.