Interfacing with the brain for therapy
Lead Research Organisation:
University of Oxford
Department Name: UNLISTED
Abstract
The treatment of diseases of the brain remains a major challenge. This is partly because drugs ignore the moment-to-moment interactions between nerve cells that determine brain function and dysfunction. Electrical stimulation therapies, however, can intervene fast enough to modify these interactions. Our central hypothesis is that we can improve therapies based on electrical stimulation by titrating stimulation according to the state of neural circuits at any given instance. In this research programme we will focus on patients with two exemplar conditions, Parkinson’s disease and Essential Tremor, and develop feedback controlled forms of deep brain stimulation, and of non-invasive stimulation techniques where stimulation is delivered by electrodes on the skin to the surface of the brain or to nerves in the limbs. Using these approaches we seek to develop treatment approaches that serve to increase efficacy and lessen side-effects.
Technical Summary
The failure rate for new drugs targeting important central nervous system diseases remains high and investment in drug discovery in this field continues to diminish. A key problem is that current therapeutic approaches tacitly assume a static equilibrium in brain state. In contrast, we seek to identify and correct those circuit interactions that, through their moment-to-moment dynamics, underpin disease symptoms related to aberrant movement. To this end, we will focus on proof-of-principle studies in patients with two exemplar conditions, Parkinson’s disease and Essential Tremor, and leverage electrical stimulation in its different forms. Common to the therapeutic interventions that we plan to develop, whether invasive or non-invasive, is that they increase selectivity by limiting stimulation according to feedback. Increased selectivity should translate in to improved efficacy and reduced side-effects, and these will be our ultimate measures of success. The feedback used to control stimulation may be neural, as in the case of the amplitude or phase of oscillations recorded in the EEG or in depth recordings, or peripheral, as in the case of the amplitude or phase of tremor oscillations recorded by accelerometers. Non-invasive stimulation, like transcranial alternating current or peripheral nerve stimulation, or invasive stimulation delivered through deep brain electrodes, is then controlled according to the amplitude or phase of the feedback. However, the most appropriate choice of feedback signal and control policy can vary according to changing context, such as sleep or gait, and we will therefore develop flexible closed-loop control procedures that change between key contexts. In parallel, we will investigate the functional role of oscillatory activities in the cortical-basal ganglia network so as to inform our targeted therapy development for brain diseases.
Organisations
- University of Oxford (Lead Research Organisation)
- Campus Bio-Medico University (Collaboration)
- Beijing Tiantan Hospital (Collaboration)
- University College London (Collaboration)
- Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) (Collaboration)
- Tsinghua University China (Collaboration)
- Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz (Collaboration)
- UNIVERSITY OF OXFORD (Collaboration)
- Ruijin Hospital (Collaboration)
- St Georges Hospital (Collaboration)
- St George's Hospital (Collaboration)
- ICM (Brain & Spine Institute) (Collaboration)
- National Institutes of Health (NIH) (Collaboration)
Publications
Alva L
(2023)
Clinical neurophysiological interrogation of motor slowing: A critical step towards tuning adaptive deep brain stimulation.
in Clinical neurophysiology : official journal of the International Federation of Clinical Neurophysiology
Baaske M
(2020)
Parkinson's disease uncovers an underlying sensitivity of subthalamic nucleus neurons to beta-frequency cortical input in vivo
in Neurobiology of Disease
Cao T
(2023)
Clinical neuromodulatory effects of deep brain stimulation in disorder of consciousness: A literature review.
in CNS neuroscience & therapeutics
Duchet B
(2020)
Phase-dependence of response curves to deep brain stimulation and their relationship: from essential tremor patient data to a Wilson-Cowan model.
in Journal of mathematical neuroscience
Fischer P
(2020)
Entraining Stepping Movements of Parkinson's Patients to Alternating Subthalamic Nucleus Deep Brain Stimulation
in The Journal of Neuroscience
Fischer P
(2020)
Movement-related coupling of human subthalamic nucleus spikes to cortical gamma.
in eLife
Related Projects
Project Reference | Relationship | Related To | Start | End | Award Value |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
MC_UU_00003/1 | 31/03/2020 | 30/03/2025 | £1,280,000 | ||
MC_UU_00003/2 | Transfer | MC_UU_00003/1 | 31/03/2020 | 30/03/2025 | £2,361,000 |
MC_UU_00003/3 | Transfer | MC_UU_00003/2 | 31/03/2020 | 30/03/2025 | £1,126,000 |
MC_UU_00003/4 | Transfer | MC_UU_00003/3 | 31/03/2020 | 30/03/2025 | £2,269,000 |
MC_UU_00003/5 | Transfer | MC_UU_00003/4 | 31/03/2020 | 30/03/2025 | £2,274,000 |
MC_UU_00003/6 | Transfer | MC_UU_00003/5 | 31/03/2020 | 30/03/2025 | £2,177,000 |
Description | Advancing adaptive deep brain stimulation for gait disturbances and freezing of gait in Parkinson's disease |
Amount | £464,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | MR/V00655X/1 |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 02/2021 |
End | 01/2023 |
Description | Capital funding for refurbishment of MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit |
Amount | £988,500 (GBP) |
Organisation | Medical Research Council (MRC) |
Sector | Public |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 03/2020 |
End | 03/2027 |
Description | Smart electroceuticals for neurological disorders (SEND) |
Amount | £198,000 (GBP) |
Funding ID | PGL21/10115 |
Organisation | Rosetrees Trust |
Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 05/2022 |
End | 03/2025 |
Description | Univ of Oxford Medical and Life Sciences Translational Fund |
Amount | £65,896 (GBP) |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 09/2020 |
End | 09/2021 |
Description | Univ of Oxford: University Challenge Seed Fund |
Amount | £63,800 (GBP) |
Funding ID | Award UCSF 459 |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Sector | Academic/University |
Country | United Kingdom |
Start | 08/2020 |
End | 09/2021 |
Title | EEGs from healthy motor control during neurofeedback training |
Description | The EEG data were recorded from 20 human volunteers (10 females) while they were performing a sequential neurofeedback-behaviour task, with the neurofeedback reflecting the occurrence of beta bursts over sensorimotor cortex (C3 or C4) quantified in real time. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2020 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | In this study, we show that healthy participants can be trained to self-suppress a special pattern of brain activity called 'beta bursts'. We found that this training was accompanied by quicker reactions when prompted to move. The more beta bursts were suppressed, the less time needed to move. Our results suggest such training could be used to speed up movements when needed. |
URL | https://data.mrc.ox.ac.uk/data-set/eegs-healthy-motor-control-during-neurofeedback-training |
Title | STN local field potential recordings from awake patients with Parkinson's, ON and OFF meds, and during 130 Hz DBS |
Description | Subthalamic local field potential recordings from awake patients with Parkinson's disease while leads were externalised. In 30 hemispheres, this data was recorded ON and OFF dopaminergic medication and in 26 hemispheres before and during 130 Hz deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus. DBS data: This file contains data from 26 hemispheres. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Views and downloads. |
URL | https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:e1dfbc95-86ce-4408-867b-b1770d6ca4cb |
Title | Subthalamic and thalamic local field potential recordings from patients with cervical dystonia |
Description | This data set contains data that were used in Wiest et al., 2022 (https://doi.org/10.1002/mds.29302). The files are in MATLAB .mat format. Local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from 7 patients with cervical dystonia (non-directional Boston Vercise leads with 8 contact levels, placed in the subthalamic nucleus, Zona incerta and ventrolateral thalamus). |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | downloads from website. |
URL | https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:9cb9a6fb-d35c-4350-a4a7-10b999fedbf3 |
Title | Subthalamic and thalamic local field potential recordings from patients with cervical dystonia |
Description | This data set contains data that were used in Wiest et al., 2022. The files are in MATLAB .mat format. The dataset is split into three .zip files. Local field potentials (LFPs) were recorded from 7 patients with cervical dystonia (non-directional Boston Vercise leads with 8 contact levels, placed in the subthalamic nucleus, Zona incerta and ventrolateral thalamus). 5 patients were recorded bilaterally, yielding 12 hemispheres. All channel labels are saved in SmrData.WvTits. LFPs were recorded from contact levels adjacent to the stimulation contact in bipolar fashion (label e.g. L13 if L2 was stimulated). All other LFPs were recorded in unipolar mode with common mode rejection (label e.g. L4). In addition, selected electroencephalography (EEG) contacts were recorded with common mode rejection (label e.g. C3). In some patients, electromyography (EMG, e.g. left splenius muscles (SplL) or left sternocleidomastoid muscle (SCML)) from dystonic neck muscles and accelerometer data (from the forehead or the vertex) were recorded. The time stamps and intensity of the applied stimulation currents are saved in channel Cur1/Am1. In this dataset, we progressively increased stimulation intensity in steps of 0.5 mA until either the side effect threshold or 4.5 mA were reached. We tested all middle contacts (levels 2 to 7 if leads are labelled from 1 to 8) in this way. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | There has been 13 downloads since it has been uploaded for sharing. |
URL | https://data.mrc.ox.ac.uk/lfp-dystonia |
Title | Subthalamic nucleus activity during stopping of rhythmic finger tapping |
Description | Through close collaboration with functional neurosurgery teams throughout UK, we have enjoyed the precious opportunity to record brain activities from deep structures of the brain in patients with Parkinson's Disease, who received the surgery for Deep Brain Stimulation as a treatment for their diseases. We make the data we collected freely available to other scientist through Oxford University Research Archive. The data was collected between 2015 and 2016 at the John Radcliffe Hospital (Oxford) and the National Hospital for Neurology and Neurosurgery (London) in 9 patients with Parkinson's disease who had undergone deep brain stimulation surgery. Patients performed a stopping task while local field potentials from the subthalamic nucleus and scalp EEG channels (C3, C4, Cz, Fz, Pz) were recorded with a TMSi Porti amplifier. Patients were instructed to interrupt finger tapping, which was paced by a metronome, in response to an auditory stop-signal, which was timed such that successful stopping would occur only in ~50% of all trials. This data will allow us to better understand how activities from different areas of the brain are involved in rhythmic movements and the successful stopping of those ongoing movements. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2017 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | The dataset has been downloaded for 40 times since it was made available online in 2018. |
URL | https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:54c00c3d-1809-4a52-bba8-b491b6075f35 |
Title | Subthalamic nucleus correlates of decision and movement speed. |
Description | This code analyses behavioural data from a group of 13 Parkinson patients and 15 healthy control participants performing a moving dots paradigm with Speed vs. Accuracy instructions. The main behavioural outcomes are reaction times, movement times, peak force and response accuracy (folder 1, used for figure 1 in the published article), as well as computational analysis of behaviour with hierarchical drift diffusion modelling (folder 2, used for figure 2). In patients local field potentials were recorded during the task and corresponding code is stored in folder 3-5 (figure 3). In 10 patients burst deep brain stimulation was applied during a second session. Its effects on behaviour and local field potentials are analysed with code from folder 6 and 7 (figures 4-6). The results have been published in a paper termed 'Dynamic control of decision and movement speed in the human basal ganglia' by Herz et al. |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | Views and downloads |
URL | https://data.mrc.ox.ac.uk/data-set/subthalamic-nucleus-correlates-decision-and-movement-speed |
Title | Subthalamic nucleus correlates of decision and movement speed. |
Description | This code analyses behavioural data from a group of 13 Parkinson patients and 15 healthy control participants performing a moving dots paradigm with Speed vs. Accuracy instructions. The main behavioural outcomes are reaction times, movement times, peak force and response accuracy (folder 1, used for figure 1 in the published article), as well as computational analysis of behaviour with hierarchical drift diffusion modelling (folder 2, used for figure 2). In patients local field potentials were recorded during the task and corresponding code is stored in folder 3-5 (figure 3). In 10 patients burst deep brain stimulation was applied during a second session. Its effects on behaviour and local field potentials are analysed with code from folder 6 and 7 (figures 4-6). The results have been published in a paper termed 'Dynamic control of decision and movement speed in the human basal ganglia' by Herz et al. |
Type Of Material | Data analysis technique |
Year Produced | 2022 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
Impact | downloads from website |
URL | https://data.mrc.ox.ac.uk/data-set/subthalamic-nucleus-correlates-decision-and-movement-speed |
Title | Subthalamic nucleus correlates of force adaptation |
Description | Dataset available at: https://data.mrc.ox.ac.uk/data-set/subthalamic-nucleus-correlates-force-adaptation This code analyses behavioural data from a group of 16 Parkinson patients and 15 healthy control participants performing an action adaptation tasks, in which participants need to continuously adapt the applied force based on the feedback they receive. The first feedback ranges from 0 (worst) to 10 (best) points depending on the error between actual force and target force (Value-cue) and the second feedback indicates whether the force had been too low or too high (Direction-feedback). The main behavioural outcomes are measures of force production and force adaptation (folder 1, used for figure 1 in the published article). In patients local field potentials were recorded during the task and corresponding code is stored in folder 2 (figure 2&3). In 14 patients burst deep brain stimulation was applied during a second session. Its effects on behaviour and local field potentials are analysed with code from folder 3 and 4 (figures 4&5). The results have been published in a paper entitled 'Neural underpinnings of action adaptation in the subthalamic nucleus' by Herz et al. |
Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
Year Produced | 2023 |
Provided To Others? | Yes |
URL | https://ora.ox.ac.uk/objects/uuid:cd672281-a1bc-4f28-9194-bd0a3089c029 |
Description | Collaboration with Qinghua University China |
Organisation | Tsinghua University China |
Country | China |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I'm help superving the collaborating team in analysing a prescious dataset recorded from patients with Parkinson's disease during a whole-night recording with polysomnography monitoring. |
Collaborator Contribution | The collaborator is sharing with my group a prescious dataset recorded from patients with Parkinson's disease during a whole-night recording with polysomnography monitoring, which will allow us to better understand the neural mechanism underlying sleep fragmentation in Parksinson's disease. |
Impact | Still ongoing. I'm expecting to publish a peer reviewed research paper, and I'm planning to apply for new grant fo carry on research on sleep and its modulation in PD. |
Start Year | 2022 |
Description | Collaboration with the Control Team in Dept of Engineering Science in University of oxford |
Organisation | University of Oxford |
Department | Department of Engineering Science |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | I approached Prof Mark Cannon in the Control group of Dept. of Engineering Science at University of Oxford. Through the collaboration, we aim to exploit the benefits of advanced control algorithms including Model Predictive Control (MPC) in closed-loop Deep Brain Stimulation (DBS) for improving the treatment of Parkinson's disease (PD). My group has experience in developing state-dependent adaptive DBS for Parkinson's disease and Essential Tremor, and in developing new Brain Computer Interfaces based on subcortical local field potentials. We will bring their expertise in real-time signal processing, real-time system implementation, dynamic modelling and machine-learning methods. |
Collaborator Contribution | Prof Mark Cannon has world-wide reputation in model-predictive control, which has revolutionized other areas of biomedical engineering such as drug delivery. His research is concerned with the design of controllers for uncertain systems with the aim of optimising performance subject to constraints. Cannon will bring essential expertise in designing controllers for non-linear stochastic dynamic systems with the aim to optimise performance subject to clinical and technical constraints. |
Impact | This is a multi-disciplinary collaboration, bringing together expertise and disciplines in clinical neuroscience and modern control theories. We have drafted research proposals on designing and testing a hierarchical, i.e. multi-layer, closed-loop control structure combining the benefits of both classical linear feedback controllers and Model Predictive Control (MPC) for improving the efficacy and reducing side effect of Deep Brain Stimulation for Parkinson's disease. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Dr Litvak |
Organisation | University College London |
Department | Institute of Neurology |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Clinical advice, supervision and interpretation |
Collaborator Contribution | Scanning and analysis |
Impact | PMID: 21147836 PMID: 25754518 PMID: 25134978 PMID: 24150222 PMID: 24089489 PMID: 23277109 PMID: 22855804 PMID: 22815506 Oswal A, Gratwicke J, Akram H, Jahanshahi M, Zaborszkye L, Brown P, Hariz M, Zrinzo L, Foltynie T, Litvak V. Intersection of structural and functional connectivity of the nucleus basalis of Meynert in Parkinson's disease dementia and Lewy body dementia. Brain, In Press. |
Start Year | 2008 |
Description | Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière - ICM |
Organisation | ICM (Brain & Spine Institute) |
Country | France |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | We bring our expertise in recording electrophysiological as well as behavioural data from patients with Parkinson's disease, and our experience in gait research and novel DBS algorithms for the collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Institut du Cerveau et de la Moelle épinière - ICM (Brain & Spine Institute) - is an international brain and spinal cord research center where patients, doctors and researchers are brought together with the aim of rapidly developing treatments for disorders of the nervous system, to enable patients to benefit from them as quickly as possible. |
Impact | We have submitted a joint application and successfully obtained funding for the Network of Centres of Excellence in Neurodegeneration (CoEN) 2019 call. In this proposal, we aim to better understand the neural basis of freezing of gait in Parkinsn's disease with the aim to predict the likely occurrence of these transient FoG episodes, and to evaluate the effectiveness a novel biomimetic pattern of STN stimulation as a treatment promoting resistance to FoG. This would pave the way for early detection of episodic gait disturbances that could be used to control switching between DBS stimulation patterns that are most appropriate for minimizing risk of falling at a given moment in time. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Kareem Zaghloul NIH |
Organisation | National Institutes of Health (NIH) |
Country | United States |
Sector | Public |
PI Contribution | My research team brings expertise in signal processing and experimental design for studying cognitive and motor function in Parkinson's Disease. |
Collaborator Contribution | The lab of Dr Kareem Zaghloul exploits the unique investigative opportunities provided by intracranial electrical recordings during neurosurgical procedures. Using recordings captured from epilepsy patients implanted with subdural and depth electrodes, we investigate the activation of cortical networks during memory encoding and recall.And using the recordings captured during the implantation of deep brain stimulators, we investigate the role of the basal ganglia in learning and decision making. |
Impact | We are collaborating on co-supervising a PhD student funded by the NIH Oxford-Cambridge Scholars Program. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | Mainz collaboration |
Organisation | Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | Protocol development and help with ethics application Analysis and Interpretation |
Collaborator Contribution | Ethics application Muthuraman M, Bange M, Koirala N, Ciolac D, Pintea B, Glaser M, Tinkhauser G, Brown P, Deusch G, Groppa S. (2020) Cross-frequency coupling between gamma oscillations and deep brain stimulation frequency in cortico-subcortical networks in Parkinson's disease patients. Brain, 143:3393-3407. Wiest C, Tinkhauser G, Pogosyan A, Bange M, Muthuraman M, Groppa S, Baig F, Mostofi A, Pereira E, Tan H, Brown P, Torrecillos F. (2020) Local field potential activity dynamics in response to deep brain stimulation of the subthalamic nucleus in Parkinson's disease. Neurobiology of Disease, 143; 105019. Tinkhauser G, Torrecillos F, Pogosyan A, Mostofi A, Bange M, Fischer P, Tan H, Harutomo H, Glaser M, Muthuraman M, Groppa S, Keyoumars A, Pereira E, Brown P. (2020) The cumulative effect of transient synchrony states on motor performance in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Neuroscience, 40; 1571-1580. |
Impact | None yet |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | New Collaboration with Sergiu Groppa, JGU University Mainz, Germany |
Organisation | Johannes Gutenberg University of Mainz |
Country | Germany |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | The contribution of my group in this collaboration is to provide mature experimental paradigm to study fine-tuned movements and sensorimotor adaptation with simultaneous LFP/EEG recordings, strong skills and expertise in signal processing and modelling, experiences and equipment for closed-loop neuromodulation. |
Collaborator Contribution | Sergiu Groppa is Professor of Neurology and Head of Movement Disorders, Neurostimulation and Imaing at the Department of Neurology, Johannes Gutenberg-University of Mainz. The main focus of his scientific work is the investigation of brain reorganization and adaptation in neurological disorders and brain networks modulation through invasive and non-invasive neurostimulation methods. So the two groups have common interest and overlapping skills. But Gergiu's group also bring in skills and expertise in imaging, brain specimens acervation, blood and CSF phenotyping, as well as clinical profiling. |
Impact | A pre-proposal has been submitted to a call for 'Collaborative Research Network: Circuitry and Brain-body Interactions', a program of the Aligning Science Across Parkinson's (ASAP) initiative being implemented through The Michael J. Fox Foundation. The pre-proposal has been selected for a full submission. |
Start Year | 2020 |
Description | Ruijin Hospital, Shanghai Tiao Tong University |
Organisation | Ruijin Hospital |
Country | China |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | We bring our expertise in experimental design and signal processing in the collaboration. |
Collaborator Contribution | The functional neurosurgery team in Ruijing Hospital, Shanghai Jiao Tong University is known for piloting clinical trials on new targets for Deep Brain Stimulation for the treatment of psychiatric disorders. This allowed us to record signals from deep brain structures related to emotional processing in patients with Psychiatric disorders. |
Impact | This collaboration is multi-disciplinary combining disciplines in neuroscience and clinical practice. This collaboration allowed us to complete a study investigating the neural oscillation in the habenula during emotional processing in patients with psychiatric disorders. A manuscript has been uploaded to BioRxiv and under review with eLife. |
Start Year | 2019 |
Description | St George's Hospital London |
Organisation | St Georges Hospital |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | We have established collaboration with the functional neurosurgery team in St George's Hospital London for recruitment of patients. |
Collaborator Contribution | The Functional Neurosurgery Group at St George's Hospital London form a very busy clinical centre with over 30 PD patients to be operated for DBS over the course of next year, with the service still expanding. The Group is led by a young, highly motivated team with particular interest in research. |
Impact | We have recruited more than 30 patients for our studies in St George's hospital London, and have co-authored publications. We have also trained their team in research, including setting up equipment for recording, experimental design and signal processing. |
Start Year | 2018 |
Description | St Georges hospital |
Organisation | St George's Hospital |
Department | Department of Neurosurgery |
Country | United Kingdom |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Protocol developed. Ethics obtained Publication Analysis and Interpretation |
Collaborator Contribution | Protocol developed with me. Ethics obtained Publication Analysis and Interpretation |
Impact | Mostofi A, Morgante F, Edwards MJ, Brown P, Pereira EAC. Pain in Parkinson's disease and the role of subthalamic nucleus deep brain stimulation. Brain, In Press. He S, Mostofi A, Syed E, Torrecillos F, Tinkhauser G, Fischer P, Pogsyan A, Hasegawa H, Li Y, Ashkan K, Pereira E, Brown P, Tan H. Subthalamic beta targeted neurofeedback training speeds up movement initiation in Parkinsonian. eLife, 2020. eLife, 9:e60979. Tinkhauser G, Torrecillos F, Pogosyan A, Mostofi A, Bange M, Fischer P, Tan H, Harutomo H, Glaser M, Muthuraman M, Groppa S, Keyoumars A, Pereira E, Brown P. (2020) The cumulative effect of transient synchrony states on motor performance in Parkinson's disease. Journal of Neuroscience, 40; 1571-1580. |
Start Year | 2017 |
Description | Subthalamic nucleus studies |
Organisation | Chang Gung Memorial Hospital (CGMH) |
Country | Taiwan, Province of China |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | Supervision and mentorship of visiting research fellow |
Collaborator Contribution | Visiting fellow funded from Taiwan. Data analysed was collected in Taiwan |
Impact | di Biase, L., Brittain, J.S., Shah, S.A., Pedrosa, D.J., Cagnan, H., Mathy, A., Chen, C.C., Martín-Rodríguez, J.F., Mir, P., Timmerman, L., Schwingenschuh, P., Bhatia, K., Di Lazzaro, V. & Brown, P. Tremor Stability Index: a new tool for differential diagnosis in tremor syndromes. Brain 140, 1977-1986 (2017). Fischer, P., Chen, C.C., Chang, Y.J., Yeh, C.H., Pogosyan, A., Herz, D.M., Cheeran, B., Green, A.L., Aziz, T.Z., Hyam, J., Little, S., Foltynie, T., Limousin, P., Zrinzo, L., Hasegawa, H., Samuel, M., Ashkan, K., Brown, P. & Tan, H. Modulation of subthalamic nucleus beta oscillations during stepping in place is enhanced in the presence of auditory cues. J Neurosci 38, 5111-5121 (2018). Shah, S.A., Tinkhauser, G., Chen, C.C., Little, S. & Brown. P. Parkinsonian Tremor Detection from Subthalamic Nucleus Local Field Potentials for Closed-Loop Deep Brain Stimulation. IEEE Eng Med Biol Soc (EMBC18), 2320-2324 (2118). Chen CC, Yeh C-H, Chan H-L, Chang YJ, Tu PH, Yeh CH, Lu CS, Fischer P, Tinkhauser G, Tan H, Brown P. (2019) Subthalamic nucleus oscillations correlate with vulnerability to freezing in patients with Parkinson's Disease. Neurobiology of Disease, 132; 104605. |
Start Year | 2015 |
Description | Tiantan Hospital, China |
Organisation | Beijing Tiantan Hospital |
Country | China |
Sector | Hospitals |
PI Contribution | I have established collaboration with the functional neurosurgery team at Tiantan Hospital, Beijing Capital Medical University, Beijing, China. I'm helping supervising the analysis of data recorded in patients with PD during sleep, and patients with disorders of consciousness. |
Collaborator Contribution | they have recorded previous data from patients during a whole night sleep, which can help answer lots of research qustions. |
Impact | We have collaborated papers published, and another one under review. |
Start Year | 2023 |
Description | Unit of Neurology, Neurophysiology, Neurobiology and Psychiatry, Università Campus Bio-Medico di Roma, Roma, Italy |
Organisation | Campus Bio-Medico University |
Country | Italy |
Sector | Academic/University |
PI Contribution | We contributed to the recording and data analysis of a collaborative project on how vagus nerve stimulation changes neural activities and gait. |
Collaborator Contribution | The partners contributed to the design of the project, recruitment of patients, and data analysis. |
Impact | WE have a joint publication in movement disorders: https://movementdisorders.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/10.1002/mds.29690 |
Start Year | 2019 |
Title | Emulation of Electrophysiological Signals Derived By Stimulation Of A Body |
Description | Emulation of Electrophysiological Signals Derived By Stimulation Of A Body |
IP Reference | |
Protection | Patent application published |
Year Protection Granted | 2019 |
Licensed | No |
Impact | This is a hardware emulator of how pathological brain activities in basal ganglia will respond to electrical stimulation with different parameters. This will allow the designing and testing of different closed-loop control algorithms for Parkinson's disease. |
Title | Investigating the possibility and benefit of closed-loop deep brain stimulation by detecting the voluntary movement and postural tremor on patients with tremor |
Description | Lots of patients suffer from tremor which predominantly occurs during voluntary movement and/or while maintaining a certain posture. For example, Essential tremor (ET), a progressive neurological disorder that causes involuntary and rhythmic shaking, is one of the most common movement disorders. Dystonia tremor is another condition in which tremor is typically intermittent (stops and starts). Continuous deep brain stimulation (DBS) is an approved and effective therapy for both ET or Dystonia tremor. However, due to disease progression or the brain becoming used to stimulation, many patients lose the benefit of DBS over time. In these circumstances, an increased stimulation intensity is usually required in order to maintain the beneficial effect. Increased stimulation intensity can be associated with side effects including unpleasant sensations, slurred speech and unsteadiness walking. A promising innovative DBS treatment, known as closed-loop or adaptive DBS, aims to only deliver stimulation when necessary, and so, reduce these side effects, save on battery power, and prolong the time for which DBS provides benefit to patients. In this study, the researchers will evaluate if the closed-loop DBS system is effective in reducing tremor, saves energy in comparison to traditional continuous DBS, and could be used to predict the onset of tremors so DBS can be switched on in advance for improved patient outcomes. |
Type | Management of Diseases and Conditions |
Current Stage Of Development | Initial development |
Year Development Stage Completed | 2020 |
Development Status | Under active development/distribution |
Clinical Trial? | Yes |
Impact | A manuscript has been accepted by Movement Disorders based on the first 8 patients recruited for this trial. |
URL | http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN56186994 |
Title | Investigating the relationship between movement initiation and beta bursts in patients with Parkinson's disease by neurofeedback training |
Description | Beta bursts (increase in certain brain signals known as beta oscillations) in specific brain circuits have been associated with rigidity and slow movement in Parkinson's disease (PD), as well as associated with the initiation of movement in healthy subjects. The suppression of beta bursts through medication or deep brain stimulation (DBS) correlates with improvement in the symptoms of PD. In particular, the occurrence of the beta bursts just before a signal to start moving slows these movements. In this study, we used a neurofeedback behavior task in order to investigate whether patients with Parkinson's disease and healthy volunteers can learn to suppress beta bursts with neurofeedback training and whether the training improves performance in a subsequent movement task. This clinical trial is funded by the MRC. We are actively seeking further funding for the further development and distribution. |
Type | Management of Diseases and Conditions |
Current Stage Of Development | Initial development |
Year Development Stage Completed | 2020 |
Development Status | Under active development/distribution |
Clinical Trial? | Yes |
Impact | The results of the study has led to a few publications of high impact, and we have also published the data for free access from this trial. |
URL | http://www.isrctn.com/ISRCTN12684957?q=neurofeedback%20for%20parkinson%27s%20disease&filters=&sort=&... |
Description | Beatriz interviewed Prof. Duília de Mello online |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | A PhD student Beatriz interviewed the astronomer Prof. Duília de Mello, who discussed her career trajectory, impactful educational initiatives she created in Brazil as well as the challenging current situation of Brazilian Science. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MWEc8zmc2mM |
Description | Beatriz organised media interview |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Engagement focused website, blog or social media channel |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Beatriz helped to organise an interview between her co-leader Érika Machado (PhD student in the Netherlands) interviewed the biologist Prof. Carlos Menck, who discussed the politization of science during the pandemic. The talks are in Portuguese. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wZ8_wzjwf2M |
Description | Beatriz talked to school students in Brazil |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Beatriz gave two talks to primary and high school students in Jundiaí in her hometown, in Brazil (22/3/2021 and 13/4/2021). |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Conversation and Discussion with donors |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Supporters |
Results and Impact | We had an online discussion with Rosetrees and charitable donors. We introduced our work and showed why we think they are important and why we are enthusiastic about it. We have agreed to host another visitor for the charitable donors to our research Unit after the pandemic. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Demonstration for Visitors from French Embassy in London |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
Results and Impact | Presentation of MRC BNDU reasearch and discussion about MRC-led research with the Scientific Attachée (Life Sciences, Biology and Medicine) Higher Education, Research and Innovation Department of the French Embassy in London. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022 |
Description | Discussion with IBM |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Industry/Business |
Results and Impact | We attended the Oxford - IBM Workshop, in which we had a series of short presentations from both sides with time for discussion in between. Some breakout sessions have been set up virtually for multiple conversations. Time have also be set aside to discuss mechanisms for scaling up the interactions and facilitating collaboration. After the initial workshop, we had another separate meeting the IBM team discussing further collaborations. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021,2022 |
Description | Faissal Corpus Curiosum lecture series |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | PhD student Faissal Sharif has helped to organise the 4th Corpus Curiosum lecture series for critical thinking in Neuroscience and Psychology https://corpuscuriosum.com/#series4 |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2022,2023 |
Description | I'm a Scientist, Stay at home Medical Research - April to July 2020 |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | In April to July 2020, Petra Fischer and Shenghong He from Brown/Tan group took part in the Virtual I'm a Scientist, Stay at home Medical Research. This is a yearly event organised by the MRC is an online, STEM engagement activity for school students who can take part in live text-based CHATs, ASK questions and VOTE for their favourite researcher/technician.This public engagement activity this year aims to help students stay engaged with STEM during the school closures. The children's curiosity and the diversity of scientists participating in the scheme were excellent. The chats were fast-paced and fun - a very effective way to engage with school children. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | IF Oxford Science - Neurotales (27 October 2020) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | Beatriz Silveira de Arruda from Prof Peter Brown's group will be taking part in the IF Oxford Science on 27th October 2020. She will be talking about developing noninvasive means of treating tremor in essential tremor and Parkinson's disease. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://if-oxford.com/event/neurotales-2/ |
Description | In2science 'virtual placement programme' |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | In July/August 2020, MRC BNDU continues to participate in the previously partnered with the charity In2science to host Year 12 school pupils enrolled on their STEM work-experience programme. This public engagement activity aims to empower young people from disadvantaged background to achieve their potential through life changing opportunities that give them insights into STEM careers and research and boosts their skills and confidence. Each summer, for the past 4 years, we have delivered personalised mentoring and rich STEM experiences for pupils from disadvantaged backgrounds. Beatriz Silveira de Arruda and Shenghong He from Brown/Tan group together with some members of the Dupret and Magill group took part in a research-based module "Interacting with the brain" that was jointly designed and delivered in support of In2scienceUK's Virtual Placement Programme. They organised webinars and research tasks (with real data!) for the students who took part. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://in2scienceuk.org/ |
Description | Lecture by Paul Bolam (4 Nov 2020) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Professor Paul Bolam (Emeritus Professor of BNDU) attended the Cherwell School for the third time on 4th November 2020. He talked to year 12 and 13 Psychology and Biology students on how the brain works and what goes wrong in disease (Parkinson's disease). The following topics were covered: • How one can study the brain. • Concepts of neurons synapses and circuits. • Parkinson's disease and what goes wrong in the disease. • How we can treat Parkinson's disease and what are the prospects for the future. • What we do to study Parkinson's disease in animals. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Lucia Italian movement disorders webinar |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
Results and Impact | Lucia was Invited talk to the Italian movement disorders society webinar (https://www.fadlimpe.it/) (2021) |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Presentation at NeuroTales event |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | National |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | PhD student Beatriz Silveira de Arruda delivered a talk in the NeuroTales event organised by IF Oxford, which is run by The Oxfordshire Science Festival (charity #1151361) Together with other public engagement ambassadors from the Nuffield Department of Clinical Neurosciences at University of Oxford, Beatriz spoke in the event, during which they shared their personal trajectories that led us to pursue careers in research. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://staging1.if-oxford.com/event/neurotales-2/ |
Description | Presentation to Patient groups |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Patients, carers and/or patient groups |
Results and Impact | A research fellow, Dr Damian Herz, gave an online talk on "New developments in Deep Brain Stimulation" to the PD network Rhine-Main (area around Frankfurt and Mainz). More than 40 patients with Parkinson's disease and carers attended the event. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
Description | Q&A about PD research through Oxford Sparks |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A broadcast e.g. TV/radio/film/podcast (other than news/press) |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Public/other audiences |
Results and Impact | PhD student Beatriz Silveira de Arruda delivered a live Q&A about Parkinson's disease research through Oxford Sparks on 26/5/2020. Oxford Sparks is another media/portal for general public to explore and discover science research from the University of Oxford. It is the place to find out about fascinating science and technology from the University of Oxford. The event Beatriz took part in was held through YouTube. Beatriz talked briefly about her research project and answered questions from the public. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
URL | https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=xPd-mOnNsCk |
Description | School Visit Cheney |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Local |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | My group joined the effort of the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit and visit a local school in oxford to demonatrate Brain Computer Interfaces. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2024 |
Description | School visit |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | Together with a few other colleagues from the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit, we visited a local girls' school to demonstrated different research tools and did activities with students. Ninety students between 11-16 years old attended the event. This sparked questions and discussion afterwards, and the school reported increased interest in related subject areas. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Talk on Applied Neurosciences (27-28 Nov 2020) |
Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | International |
Primary Audience | Undergraduate students |
Results and Impact | 27-28 November 2020, Dr Petra Fischer in Prof Brown and Dr Tan's group gave a talk on "Applied Neurosciences" at the Institute of Cognitive Science, Osnabrück in Germany via Zoom to Cognitive Science and Psychology students, including BSc, MSc and PhD students attended both days and actively participated in brief practical assignments. Petra gave a detailed overview of research in the BNDU including neuroimaging, deep brain stimulation and neurofeedback. Her colleague discussed applications of neuroscientific tools in business consulting. The sessions included: Techniques for recording and manipulating brain activity, statistical methods, ethics in neuroscience, project planning, and a career Q&A. To obtain a grade, 92 participants submitted a project, in which they actively engaged with some of the methods introduced, for example reviewing brain stimulation methods in a video, infographic or written report or designing and programming a behavioural experiment. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
Description | Unit School Open Day |
Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an open day or visit at my research institution |
Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
Geographic Reach | Regional |
Primary Audience | Schools |
Results and Impact | My group participated in the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit School open day. in this event, my group demontrated EEG based brain computer interfaces for typying to high school students. |
Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2023 |
URL | https://www.mrcbndu.ox.ac.uk/news/schools-open-day-2023#:~:text=On%20the%2021st%20of%20March,its%20a... |