Position Title
Assistant Professor
- Department of Neurological Surgery
- Center for Neuroscience
The Oehrn Lab specializes in human intracranial electrophysiology and deep brain stimulation. We aim to understand the function of rhythmic brain activity in basal ganglia-cortical circuits related to cognitive and emotional processing. To achieve this, we record intracranial human brain activity from the basal ganglia and thalamus in patients with Parkinson’s disease alongside electroencephalography. Beyond understanding the underlying neural networks, our goal is to develop novel brain stimulation therapies to improve non-motor symptoms in Parkinson’s disease. Extending our research from the laboratory to real-life settings, we use novel deep brain stimulation devices to record and decode brain activity during patients' daily activities. Ultimately, we aim to create adaptive deep brain stimulation paradigms that sense brain activity and adjust stimulation in real time, improving movement and cognition as well as emotional well-being for individuals with Parkinson’s disease and other neuropsychiatric disorders.