Yang Laboratory
Laboratory Focus
We study how the human brain coordinates neural activity across subcortical, quasicortical, and cortical brain regions to implement uniquely human abilities that we take for granted – synergy between emotional factors and cognition, one-shot learning, and meta-learning. The Human Neurophysiology and Neuromodulation (HNN) Lab utilizes direct recordings within the human brain combined with behavioral tasks, naturalistic stimuli, and intracranial stimulation to understand the underlying core circuit mechanisms and computational principles. The overarching goal is to provide translational links between human neurophysiology and clinical neuromodulation to guide the rational design of next-generation brain stimulation therapies for epilepsy, as well as investigative indications in cognitive and psychiatric diseases.
Our research is only made possible through the voluntary participation of patients with drug-resistant epilepsy undergoing surgery at Barrow Neurological Institute, where Dr. Yang works together with neurologists, psychiatrists, psychologists, and radiologists to provide compassionate, state-of-the-art care. Recordings are obtained during hospital admissions for seizure mapping with stereoEEG, as well as more longitudinally from chronically-implanted brain stimulation devices. These measurements provide unprecedented spatial coverage and resolution (from neurons to networks), are obtained in diverse behavioral contexts, and are integrated with rich streams of multimodal biometric data.
Contact Information
Andrew I. Yang, MD, MS
Assistant Professor in Neurosurgery
2910 N 3rd Ave
Phoenix, AZ 85013
