Todd S. Woodward, Ph.D
Professor, Department of Psychiatry, UBC
Latest News
Together with Dr. Christine Tipper, Dr. Todd Woodward aims to explore how modulation of brain networks effects task performance in people with schizophrenia. The new GTEN hardware will compliment our state-of-the-art high-density EEG system and allow for testing of hypotheses about the function of specific brain networks organized by frequency-specific neuronal oscillatory activity.
Our current 256 channel EEG system provides an exceptional measure of brain network activity, providing a temporal resolution that is three orders of magnitude finer than fMRI. Our recent work has made it possible to map out 3-4 times as many brain networks as fMRI, revealing transient brain processes that interact dynamically, thus portraying functional brain network configurations. The CNoS Lab is one of the first in the world to have successfully developed methods of measuring networks of combined frequencies of oscillation during a range of tasks. The addition of a GTEN will allow our lab to move forward with even more innovative research on schizophrenia.
The GTEN will be used in conjunction with our dense array EEG system allowing for modulation of brain network activity into specific functional states. The hardware allows for fully programmable patterns of oscillation frequencies. As well, the GTEN enables concurrent EEG measurement and stimulation, enabling a novel means of directly assessing the effects of electrical stimulation on brain activity. The results we have achieved thus far [1,2,3] suggest that a pre-treatment with neuromodulation should improve performance on cognitive tasks in persons with schizophrenia.
The GTEN equipment will be purchased with funds received from a recent grant awarded on April 21, 2017.
References
1. Whitman, J.C., Takane, Y., Cheung, T., Moiseev, A., Ribary, U., Ward, L.M., and Woodward, T.S., Acceptance of evidence-supported hypotheses generates a stronger signal from an underlying functionally-connected network. NeuroImage, 2016. 127: p. 215-226. PDF
2. Whitman, J.C., Ward, L.M., and Woodward, T.S., Patterns of cortical oscillations organize neural activity into whole-brain functional networks evident in the fMRI BOLD signal. Frontiers in Human Neuroscience, 2013. 7: p. 1-4. PDF
3. Metzak, P. (2017). Multimodal examination of brain networks involved in attentional biasing in schizophrenia. Ph.D. Dissertation, University of British Columbia Neuroscience Program. Todd Woodward Primary supervisor.
Brain Dynamics Lab
Overseen by Dr. Todd Woodward, Professor of Psychiatry and Director of the Cognitive Neuroscience of Schizophrenia Laboratory, and Dr. Christine Tipper, Assistant Professor of Psychiatry and Scientific Director of the UBC Brain Dynamics Lab, our state-of-the-art equipment will enable researchers in mind and brain health research to develop more nuanced models of the relationship between symptoms and brain function, increasing the speed with which new therapies can be developed and tested for the benefit of patients with schizophrenia and other brain disorders in British Columbia.
Functional Neuroimaging
The objectives of our functional neuroimaging research are (1) to gain a functional and anatomical understanding of the cognitive systems involved in psychosis and schizophrenia, and (2) to develop new multivariate methods for analyzing fMRI data, with applications to integrating information from fMRI, EEG and MEG. For an example of how our software works, click here.
Cognitive Neuropsychiatry
The objective of our cognitive neuropsychiatry research is to identify the cognitive operations underlying the primary symptoms of psychosis and schizophrenia. This is being explored by way of originally designed cognitive paradigms for memory confidence, source monitoring, reasoning, and semantic association.
Participate
We are always looking for people to participate in this research and currently have two active studies (detailed information on these studies here).
Please email cnos.lab@ubc.ca or call 604-822-7312 if you would like more information and if you might want to get involved.
