Abstract

Electrophysiological recordings are the gold standard for interrogating the nervous system for diagnostic and therapeutic purposes. Such recordings with microelectrode arrays enable broadband and high spatiotemporal resolution but are conventionally limited to a small cortical coverage. However, large cortical coverage together with the high spatiotemporal resolution are needed to advance our understanding of diseased and normal brain function to be able to develop effective therapies. This talk will cover the development and clinical translation of UCSD ’s multi-thousand channel platinum nanorod microelectrode arrays to map the human brain. We will discuss considerations in the electrode-tissue interface for recording and stimulation and demonstrate mapping of functional units across species including humans. Examples of large-scale microelectrode mapping of motor, language and epileptogenic discharges from the human brain will be presented along with a perspective on future directions.