The Cognitive Neurophysiology Laboratory, under the direction of Dr. Nathan Crone, is developing electrocorticographic (ECoG) spectral analysis as a method for mapping brain function in real time to help minimize functional deficits during brain surgery for epilepsy.

The overall objective of our research is to identify and validate electrophysiological signatures of human cortical processing and to use them to study the neural mechanisms of motor, sensory, and language functions. In other words, we are trying to interpret the electrical signals generated by the brain while it is at work. More information.

Electrocorticographic (ECoG) Indices of Functional Brain Activation
To harness the temporal resolution of electroencephalographic (EEG) recordings for the purposes of human functional neuroimaging, their complex signals must be translated into specific correlates of cortical processing. In addition to event-related potentials (ERPs), there is growing interest in a relatively new class of correlates consisting of event-related changes in the EEG frequency spectrum, a.k.a. event-related spectral analysis (ESA). More information.
Sensorimotor Mapping
Before applying ECoG spectral indices of functional brain activation to the study of complex cognitive operations, it is necessary to first validate these indices using tasks in which there is already a well-defined set of expectations regarding what parts of the brain should be activated and at what time they should be active. Thus our initial studies, as well as current studies using new signal analysis methods, have utilized relatively simple tasks designed to activate sensory and/or motor cortex. More information.

Studies of Auditory Processing
In collaboration with Dana Boatman, Ph.D., we are studying the brain regions that are responsible for understanding spoken words and parts of words. In a paper published in Clinical Neurophysiology we compared the activation of human auditory cortex during discrimination of spoken syllables vs. discrimination of tones. More information.

Language Mapping
We are using electrocorticography (ECoG) and event-related spectral analysis (ESA) to study how the human brain implements language. Our collaborators include Dana Boatman, Ph.D. and Barry Gordon, M.D., Ph.D. So far we have focused on the neural substrates and processing dynamics of word production. In other words, we have been looking at which parts of the brain are activated, and when they are activated during simple tasks that require subjects to speak a word in response to a visual or auditory stimulus.
More information.
Case illustration of language mapping. 		 


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Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratory
The Johns Hopkins University  |  Department of Neurology 
Meyer 2-147  |  600 N. Wolfe Street
Baltimore, Maryland 21287 USA
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