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Mapping the Brain

Electrodes are a way to eavesdrop on neural activity and when combined with optogenetics, neural probes can stimulate the mind’s circuitry and gather further insight into the causes of blindness, deafness, Parkinson’s Disease and Alzheimer's. Euisik Yoon, Professor of Electrical Engineering and Computer Science and Director of the Lurie Nanofabrication Laboratory, along with his team of assistant researchers are creating neural probes that will be able to stimulate a single neuron at a time by utilizing 12 LED lights placed on the tip of four penetrating silicon shanks. The probes can alternate colors as well as timing patterns from the LEDs. One main issue, notes Ken Wise, William Gould Dow Distinguished University Professor Electrical Engineering and Computer Science, are the materials being used on the probes. These are implanted in the body for long periods of time and need to be cellular sized to restrict any possible damage to the brain. With these new probe designs, now neural scientists can test hypothesis they have never been able to test before. ABOUT THE PROFESSORS: Kensall D. Wise received the B.S.E.E. degree from Purdue University,West Lafayette, IN, in 1963, and the M.S. and Ph.D. degrees in Electrical Engineering from Stanford University, Stanford, CA, in 1964 and 1969. He brought research on neural circuitry with him when he joined the University of Michigan in 1974 and has never stopped advancing in this field. Euisik Yoon received the B.S. and M.S. degrees in electronics engineering from Seoul National University in 1982 and 1984, respectively, and the Ph.D. degree in electrical engineering from the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor, in 1990. His research interests are in MEMS, integrated microsystems, and VLSI circuit design.