Virtual Seminar: Electrophysiology of Basal Ganglia and Thalamus in Children Undergoing DBS for Dystonia
Terence Sanger, M.D., Ph.D.
Professor
Department Electrical Engineering and Computer Science
Vice President and Chief Scientific Officer
Children's Health of Orange County
University of California - Irvine
Virtual Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar: Electrophysiology of Basal Ganglia and Thalamus in Children Undergoing DBS for Dystonia
Date: Dec. 9, 2022
Time: 11 a.m. - 12 p.m.
About this Seminar
To improve the targeting of DBS in children with varying etiologies of dystonia including secondary acquired dystonia, Dr. Sanger and his team implant up to 12 temporary stereo EEG depth electrodes through which they can perform test stimulation and electrophysiological monitoring while children are awake and unrestrained in a neuromodulation monitoring unit. This new surgical procedure provides the opportunity to investigate patterns of electrical activity in potential DBS targets, with high-resolution recording from up to 120 contracts in the basal ganglia and thalamus. Dr. Sanger will report data from 38 children and young adults, including single spike recordings, power spectral densities, cross-coherence, and stimulus-averaged evoked potentials. His lab's results do not support generalized inhibition of thalamic motor areas by basal ganglia in our patients. Furthermore, in contrast with historical data from nonhuman primates, almost all of his patients with dystonia have very low activations of internal pallidum at rest. The lab's results provide evidence for a complex interaction between internal pallidum and the motor subnuclei of the thalamus in children with dystonia.
Additional Details
This is a free event hosted by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute and co-sponsored by the institute's Center for Human Neuroscience Research. The Pioneers in Biomedical Research Seminar Series, which runs annually from September to May, has featured leading biomedical researchers from throughout the country since the program began in 2012. The lectures are also open to all members of the Virginia Tech community including graduate students, undergraduates, faculty, and staff, as well as the public.
You May Also Be Interested In...
-
Home Item
The Effects of Aging and Physical Activity on Cardiovascular Structure and Function , homeApril 10, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Ben Levine, M.D., Professor of Medicine and Cardiology, Clinical Heart and Vascular Center, Distinguished Professorship in Exercise Sciences, UT Southwestern Medical Center | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Exercise Medicine Research
-
Home Item
Immune Recognition of Viruses and Cancer – A Five-decade Quest , homeApril 16, 2026, 5:30 p.m. (Reception at 5 p.m.) | Lewis Lanier, Ph.D., J. Michael Bishop Distinguished Professor and Chair Emeritus, Department of Microbiology and Immunology, University of California, San Francisco; Elected Member, National Academy of Sciences | Maury Strauss Distinguished Public Lecture
-
Home Item
New Insights into Cardiac Mechanobiology: Role of Caveolar Nanodomains in Mechano-electrochemical Signal Transduction , homeApril 17, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Alexey Glukhov, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Cardiovascular Medicine, UW-Madison Wisconsin Institutes for Medical Research, University of Wisconsin | Co-Sponsored by the Center for Vascular and Heart Research, Fralin Biomedical Research Institute
-
Home Item
Advancing the Treatment of Traumatic Stress and Addictions: How Data Science Can Move the Field Forward , homeMay 1, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Denise Hien, Ph.D., Helen E. Chaney Endowed Chair in Alcohol Studies, Distinguished Professor, Rutgers Center of Alcohol & Substance Use Studies, Graduate School of Applied and Professional Psychology, Rutgers University-New Brunswick | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Health Behaviors Research and Addiction Recovery Research Center
-
Home Item
Spatial Entropy of Brain Network Landscapes , homeMay 15, 2026, 11 a.m. | Paul Laurienti, M.D., Ph.D., Professor, Department of Radiology, Wake Forest University School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Human Neuroscience Research
-
Home Item
Unraveling Mechanisms of BCAA Compartmentalization and Crosstalk in Cardiometabolic Disease , homeMay 29, 2026, 11:00 a.m. | Phillip J. White, Ph.D., Associate Professor of Medicine, Division of Endocrinology, Metabolism, & Nutrition, Duke Molecular Physiology Institute, Duke University School of Medicine | Co-Sponsored by the Fralin Biomedical Research Institute Center for Exercise Medicine Research