Ted Berger
Biomedical Engineering Department
University of Southern California
Friday, April 11, 2008, 12-2 p.m.
Implantable Biomimetic Electronics as Neural Prostheses for Lost Memory Function
Dr. Berger will present results of a multi-disciplinary project that is developing a microchip-based
neural prosthesis for the hippocampus, a region of the brain responsible for the formation of long-term
memories. Damage to the hippocampus is frequently associated with epilepsy, stroke, and dementia
(Alzheimer's disease), and is considered to underlie the memory deficits related to these neurological
conditions. The essential goals of Dr. Berger’s multi-laboratory effort include: (1) experimental study
of neuron and neural network function -- how does the hippocampus encode information?, (2) formulation of
biologically realistic models of neural system dynamics -- can that encoding process be described
mathematically to realize a predictive model of how the hippocampus responds to any event?, (3)
microchip implementation of neural system models -- can the mathematical model be realized as a set of
electronic circuits to achieve parallel processing, rapid computational speed, and miniaturization?,
and (4) creation of hybrid neuron-silicon interfaces -- can structural and functional connections between
electronic devices and neural tissue be achieved for long-term, bi-directional communication with the brain?
By integrating solutions to these component problems, we are realizing a microchip-based model of hippocampal
nonlinear dynamics that can perform the same function as part of the hippocampus. Through bi-directional
communication with other neural tissue that normally provides the inputs and outputs to/from a damaged
hippocampal area, the biomimetic model could serve as a neural prosthesis. A proof-of-concept will be
presented in which the CA3 region of the hippocampal slice is surgically removed, and is replaced by a
microchip model of CA3 nonlinear dynamics – the “hybrid” hippocampal circuit displays normal physiological
properties. Major strides also have been made in creating “hybrid electro-biological” systems in the behaving
animal, and these will be described as well.
Biographical Information:
Dr. Theodore W. Berger is the David Packard Professor of Engineering, Professor of Biomedical Engineering and
Neuroscience, and Director of the Center for Neural Engineering at the University of Southern California. Dr.
Berger received his Ph.D. from Harvard University in 1976; his thesis work received the James McKeen Cattell
Award from the New York Academy of Sciences. He conducted postdoctoral research at the University of California,
Irvine from 1977-1978, and was an Alfred P. Sloan Foundation Fellow at The Salk Institute from 1978-1979.
Dr. Berger joined the Departments of Neuroscience and Psychiatry at the University of Pittsburgh in 1979,
being promoted through to Full Professor in 1987. During that time, he received a McKnight Foundation Scholar
Award, twice received an NIMH Research Scientist Development Award, and was elected a Fellow of the American
Association for the Advancement of Science. Since 1992, he has been Professor of Biomedical Engineering and
Neuroscience at the University of Southern California, and was appointed the David Packard Chair of Engineering
in 2003. While at USC, Dr. Berger has received an NIMH Senior Scientist Award, was given the Lockheed Senior
Research Award in 1997, and was elected a Fellow of the American Institute for Medical and Biological Engineering
in 1998. Dr. Berger also received a Person of the Year “Impact Award” by the AARP in 2004 for his work on neural
prostheses, was a National Academy of Sciences International Scientist Lecturer in 2003, and an IEEE Distinguished
Lecturer in 2004-2005. Dr. Berger was elected a Senior Member of the IEEE in 2005, received a “Great Minds, Great
Ideas” award from the EE Times in the same year, and in 2006 was awarded the USC Associates Award for Creativity in
Research and Scholarship. Dr. Berger became Director of the Center for Neural Engineering in 1997, an organization
which helps to unite USC faculty with cross-disciplinary interests in neuroscience, engineering, and medicine. Dr.
Berger has published over 200 journal articles and book chapters, and is the co-editor of a book recently published
by the MIT Press on Toward Replacement Parts for the Brain: Implantable Biomimetic Electronics as Neural Prostheses.
In addition to applications in the arena of neural prostheses, Dr. Berger’s mathematical models of neural processing
have been applied more broadly to temporal pattern recognition problems. Acoustic recognition systems based on Dr.
Berger’s models have been used successfully to detect and classify real-world signals in the domain of security
breaching noises, which has led to commercialization efforts through Safety Dynamics, Inc., for military troop and
installation protection, urban crime prevention, and homeland security border monitoring. In summary, Dr. Berger’s
research interests include: (i) the development of biologically realistic, experimentally-based, mathematical models
of higher brain function, (ii) application of biologically realistic neural network models to real-world signal
processing problems, (iii) VLSI-based implementations of biologically realistic models of higher brain function,
(iv) neuron-silicon interfaces for bi-directional communication between brain and VLSI systems, and (v)
next-generation brain-implantable, biomimetic signal processing devices for neural prostheses.