Experimental and computational neurophysiology

The coding and processing of information in the CNS is based on the synchronous activity of neuron assemblies interconnected in a complex network of synaptic chains. Such activity can be recorded as rapid fluctuations in local field potentials (LFPs), a mesoscopic variable similar to electroencephalographic recordings that is on the intracerebral site of generation. LFPs allow access to population dynamics with full time resolution, unequaled by sophisticated and expensive modern techniques. However, theoretical and practical problems have prevented an efficient use of LFPs for decades. Our team has developed an analytical procedure capable of working around most of these problems and is currently exploring the possibilities in basic science for the study of population dynamics during natural behavior as well as in neuropathology to discover altered patterns of activity in specific populations that may constitute new clinical targets for treatment of disease.