Events

Deep brain stimulation (DBS) is a brain circuit intervention that can modulate distinct neural pathways for the treatment of brain disorders. In recent years, DBS has also emerged as a powerful research tool, advancing our understanding of network dysfunction in neuropsychiatric diseases. Building on these insights, advances in invasive neurophysiology and MRI connectomics now offer unprecedented opportunities to transform DBS into a dynamic, patient-specific therapy—shifting from static stimulation paradigms to AI-driven, closed-loop brain-computer interfaces (BCIs). In this lecture, I will introduce key disease- and symptom-specific signatures of invasively recorded brain activity and discuss their role in the clinical pathophysiology of disorders such as Parkinson’s disease, Tourette’s syndrome, obsessive compulsive disorder, and depression. I will then explore how these neural signatures originate within brain networks and examine the therapeutic mechanisms of invasive neuromodulation across micro- and macroscopic scales. Finally, I will provide an outlook on how machine learning-powered brain signal decoders can inform closed-loop DBS algorithms to revolutionize the treatment of neuropsychiatric disease—enabling precise, millisecond-scale stimulation of the right network at the right time. Towards a neural circuit prosthetic that restores disrupted neural dynamics in brain disorders.

Neuromodulation techniques, such as deep brain stimulation, have significantly improved motor function restoration in neurological disorders. However, current approaches often remain invasive and spatially imprecise. In this talk, I will explore how nanomaterials play a pivotal role in unlocking the transformative potential of converting magnetic fields into diverse neuromodulation mechanisms. Magnetic nanomaterials enable wireless, spatially unrestricted interactions with external magnetic fields, making them highly promising for neuromodulation applications. I will highlight cutting-edge approaches that leverage magnetic nanomaterials to achieve minimally invasive and neuromodulation, focusing on three key modalities: Magnetothermal neuromodulation, where hysteresis-driven heating in high-frequency alternating magnetic fields activates thermosensory neurons; Magnetomechanical neuromodulation, which utilizes anisotropic magnetite nanomaterials to generate piconewton torques under slow magnetic fields, selectively activating mechanoreceptors in neural tissues; and magnetoelectric neuromodulation, where core-shell structures efficiently convert magnetic fields into electrical potentials, enabling wireless electrical neuromodulation.

By integrating magnetically responsive nanomaterials with scalable and noninvasive electronics, we can unlock truly wireless, multimodal and bidirectional neural interfaces, paving the way for next-generation neuromodulation therapies.