The Functional and Cognitive Neurophysiology laboratory, led by Dr. Sameer Sheth, focuses on the study of human decision-making and cognition, as well as on the development of novel therapies for neuropsychiatric disorders. To accomplish these goals, the lab takes a two-fold approach.

First, they work with neurosurgical patients undergoing deep brain stimulation, epilepsy monitoring and other procedures that require the placement of intracranial electrodes. They use single-neuron and field potential recordings as well as stimulation to understand the circuitry underlying complex cognitive functions such as controlled decision-making, memory formation and emotional regulation.

Second, the lab develops and refines neuromodulatory treatments for refractory neurological and psychiatric disorders such as obsessive-compulsive disorder, depression and many others. These disorders often arise from dysfunction in the same circuits mentioned above.

Thus the two efforts advance synergistically, with a constant back-and-forth flow of ideas. Because of the multi-disciplinary nature of this work, the lab interacts closely with many other disciplines, including Neuroscience, Psychiatry, Neurology, Computational Science, Engineering and others.