slideshow

The Brain Institute at the University of Utah recently published 12 short videos in which leading researchers explain their work. Most of the videos are less than two minutes in length, and they demonstrate the breadth of innovative neuroscience research projects conducted by the Brain Institute community. From Parkinson’s disease to adolescent mood disorders to implantable neural systems, these interviews help to demystify brain science for the lay audience.

You can watch the videos at http://brain.utah.edu/videos/research-profiles.php

The topics and investigators include:

Restoring motor and sensory function - How the Utah electrode array can be used to restore movement or sensation after nervous system damage or disease. Greg Clark, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Bioengineering

Information processing in Parkinson's disease - Using an understanding of how the brain processes information during Parkinson's disease to devise new approaches for alleviating symptoms of the disease. Alan "Chuck" Dorval, Ph.D., USTAR Assistant Professor of Bioengineering

Developing neural prostheses - Developing the Utah electrode array as a vision prosthetic, and micro-ECoG to control prosthetic limbs. Bradley Greger, Ph.D., Assistant Professor of Bioengineering

Neural circuitry of cognitive disorders - Genetics, imaging, and molecular-based methods to understand how social and behavioral circuits are affected in cognitive disorders, such as Down syndrome and Williams syndrome. Julie Korenberg, M.D., Ph.D., USTAR Professor of Pediatrics

Mood disorders in adolescents - Advanced magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) techniques to investigate causes of mood disorders in adolescents. Melissa Lopez-Larson, M.D., USTAR Assistant Professor of Psychiatry

Utah electrode array - What the Utah electrode array is and how it can help those with pathology or injury to central or peripheral nervous systems. Richard Normann, Ph.D., Distinguished Professor of Bioengineering

Biophysics of the inner ear - Investigating biophysics of the inner ear to improve cochlear implants and other therepeutics. Richard Rabbitt, Ph.D., Professor of Bioengineering

Altitude, brain chemistry, and mood states - Magnetic resonance spectroscopy (MRS) to investigate how living at high altitude affects brain chemistry, and contributes to high rates of depression observed in Utah. Perry Renshaw, M.B.A., M.D., Ph.D., USTAR Professor of Psychiatry

Implantable neural systems for patient monitoring - Fine-tuning harsh environment and implantable microsystems for real-time, remote monitoring of patient health. Florian Solzbacher, Ph.D., Associate Professor, Electrical & Computer Engineering

Sensing and processing olfactory information - Exploring the sense of smell as a means to understand how the brain encodes and processes sensory information. Matt Wachowiak, Ph.D., USTAR Associate Professor of Physiology

Information processing in the brain - Investigating how information is processed in the brain with the goal of helping the human condition. John White, Ph.D., Executive Director of the Brain Institute

Psychiatric illness and traumatic brain injury - Magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) to understand and devise clinical interventions for psychiatric illness and traumatic brain injury. Deborah Yurgelun-Todd, Ph.D., USTAR Professor of Psychiatry