Worthing Rice Apprentice Program Read, Write, Study and Learn about the brain, electronics, and computers in small, serious, caring groups lead by Rice students and faculty. April 21, 2011
Jan 08, 2018
Worthing Rice Apprentice ProgramRead, Write, Study and Learn about the brain,
electronics, and computers in small, serious, caring groups lead by Rice students and faculty.
April 21, 2011
One Challenge: 3 Million with EpilepsyThree Teams Team VNS Crystal, Charriel and Donya Jessica, Alicia and Malcolm
Team Spike Jairus, Naam, Edwin, Princess, Andre, and Kendre Katie, Jen, Jamie and Jon
Team EEG Keyera, Sade, Sane, Javan, Loyce and Guillermo Andrew, Kiefer, Ryan, Zach and Steve
Vagus Nerve Stimulator Group
Charriel Greer, Donya Guyton, Crystal Stanford-Wallace
A large percentage of epileptic patients do not respond to anti-convulsant drugs.
Rather than removing the suspect brain tissue doctors often trick the brain into treating itself.
One such method is Vagus Nerve Stimulation, in which the Vagus Nerve is artificially driven at a rate and amplitude that leads to the beneficial release of calming hormones into the hyperactive tissue.
Vagus Nerve Stimulator Small device which
is the size of a silver dollar
Sends mild, electrical impulses to the brain through vagus nerve
Vagus nerve then stimulates Locus Coeruleus which delivers a hormone that reduces seizures.
Locus Coeruleus and Norepinephrine The Locus Coeruleus is a
nucleus in the brain stem that responds to stress and panic.
Norepinephrine has two roles. It is a hormone and a neurotransmitter. As a stress hormone it affects parts of the brain where attention and responding actions are controlled. In the central nervous system and sympathetic nervous system where it is released from noradrenergic neurons.
Neuron Communication
A Closer Look at the Synapse
Removal of Neurotransmitters
Chemical EquationsReactants and Products Types of Equations
BalancingEqual moles of each atom on each side of the equation
Rate of Reactions Depends on
Concentration of Reactants Rate coefficients
A+B C Forward Rate= kf [A][B] Reverse Rate= kr [C]
Neurotransmitters and Receptors
R + Nt C
Forming Complexes
R + Nt C
Comparing Normal and Epileptic Patients
Condition Total Neurotransmitters Concentration
Concentration of Complexes Formed
Normal At Rest 0.0001 0.001
Normal Firing 0.05 0.7
Epilepsy Firing 0.1 0.9
Because epilepsy patients have more formed complexes, the neurons will fire more.
Modeling: the First Step to Understanding EpilepsyThis design characterizes the reaction
between neurons and neurotransmittersUsing this, we can determine the
concentration of complexes when a neuron fires
By modeling the synapse, we hope to gain a better understanding of how neuron disorders work
Team Spike
Naam McClinton Kendre Watson Princess Rolle Edwin Garcia Andre Burrell Jairus Warren
Goal: Build circuits that produce spikes
Passive Model
Simulations
Fitzhugh-Nagumo Model Simplification of the active neuron model Future work: examine synchrony among neurons
EEG = Extremely Excited Group
Guillermo Chavez Javan Hamilton Loyce Gayo Keyera Lee Sane Picquet Sade Picquet
Goal: Decode brain waves into movement
Projects
Programming in Octave & Matlab Building EEG circuit board Building the awesome car (soon) Recording and measuring brain waves Putting it all together
What is EEG?
EEG (electroencephalogram)
Measures electrical activity in the brain
Common uses for brain disorders, e.g., Epilepsy
EEG Circuit Building
Electrical parts and components Capacitors Resistors Potentiometers Wires Op-amps Bread board Battery
The Secret Behind the Magic!
Raw Data from EEG
Linear interpolation
Fourier Transform
CAR MOVES (aaaaaaaawwwwhhh moment)
Mathematical Methods Math basics
Fourier Theory- breaks down brain waves into sine waves (Play FREQ)
Programming Trapezoid Rule Fourier series Move car by high (gamma) vs. low (theta) frequency
Demo & Thanks
Our Mentors Dr. Dave Caprette (Crawfish and Frog Labs) Dr. Maria Oden and Mr.Carlos Amaro (Design
Kitchen) Dr. Anne Saterbak (Microscope/Circuit Lab) Ms. Laura Cox (Snacks) Ms. Honore and Dr. Cox