(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-05-27)
Potter, Steve M.
At the Laboratory for Neuroengineering at the Georgia Institute of Technology, we are creating a new research paradigm to span the gap between artificial neural network models and living
animals. These "semi-living" animals consist of neurons from rodent cortex grown in vitro on multi-electrode arrays, with two-way (closed-loop) connections to artificial bodies, whether
simulated or robotic. We use these embodied cultured networks to study the basis of information storage, processing and dynamics in neuronal circuits. Cultured networks have the
advantage of being much simpler and more accessible than intact brains, while retaining much of their rich dynamics. We have developed methods for training cultured networks to control
goal-directed behavior in animats by patterned multi-electrode stimulation. We also use multi-electrode stimulation to control epileptiform bursting in vitro. At the Emory University School
of Medicine we are translating this in vitro technique to an in vivo rodent epilepsy model, with the hope of developing brain stimulation therapies for patients with intractable epilepsy.
(Georgia Institute of Technology, 2005-02-22)
Potter, Steve M.
What changes about your brain when you learn something? When you forget? How do brains compute? How can brain-style computation be used in artificial systems? The Potter Group, part of the Laboratory for Neuroengineering at Georgia Tech, has developed a variety of new technologies for interfacing to the nervous system, to help answer such questions. They grow cultures of brain cells on multi-electrode arrays, and use them to control simulated or robotic animals ("animats"). By observing these living neuronal networks using multiphoton optical microscopy, they hope to observe the cellular and network-level changes that underlie learning, forgetting, and brain-style computation. For more information, see http://neuro.gatech.edu.