RESEARCH STATEMENT

Prof. Ranganatha Sitaram, PhD

My research is at the intersection of neuroscience, imaging and computational

intelligence. It is based on the pivotal question: can modulation of brain activity in
selected regions and networks lead to specific changes in sensation, perception,
cognition and action, and if so what are they and how can they be used in
neuroscience research and clinical treatment of neuropsychological disorders?
Conceptually, my work is based on the fundamental neuropsychological paradigms
of learning, namely, operant conditioning, classical conditioning and associative
learning, to induce changes in the brain and behavior; combining it with innovative
developments in functional and structural brain imaging, physiological measurement
technology, and computational algorithms.

I have applied state-of-the-art techniques of brain signal acquisition in advanced

experimental paradigms of experimental neuroscience and neuropsychology. I’m
interested in applying these methods in: 1) communication and control in paralysis,
2) clinical rehabilitation of neuropsychological disorders, such as stroke, psychopathy
and schizophrenia, and 3) scientific investigations in neuroscience, of emotion,
cognition, motor function, and distinction between conscious and non-conscious
perception.

My long-term research goal is to explain and characterize the neural

mechanisms underlying brain self-regulation in humans and animals,
performed with Brain-Machine Interfaces (BMI), Brain-Computer Interfaces and
Neurofeedback systems. Brain control has several potential benefits: alternate
communication and control system for paralyzed patients; neuroprostheses for stroke
and Parkinson’s patients; cognitive and emotional rehabilitation for psychiatric
patients; and a complementary approach in neuroscience research by which brain
activity is changed as an independent variable to study brain-behavior relationships.
In spite of the progress and promise, it is still not clear how specific alterations in
neural activity in targeted regions of the brain is learned and performed, and how
repeated regulation of brain activity changes behavior. My research program will
investigate the underlying mechanism of self-regulation of the brain, and how self-
regulation influences behavior and physiology. In pursuit of this goal, I envisage a
series of multilevel and multimodal studies, that spans the lowest neural level, the
intermediate systems level, and the highest brain level, by simultaneous intracortical
recordings, functional near infrared spectroscopy (fNIRS) and real-time functional
magnetic resonance imaging (rtFMRI) in non-human primates and humans. The
specific research objectives are: 1) To probe the neuroelectric and hemodynamic
changes during self-regulation, 2) To compare the brain and behavioral modifications
due to local, long-range and network-wide brain self-regulation training, and 3) To
unravel the operant and cognitive mechanisms of self-regulation learning.

Traditional approaches to diagnosing and treating neuropsychological and psychiatry

disorders, such as depression, schizophrenia and other psychopathologies, have
largely relied on subjective reports and behavioral observations of the patients,
followed by pharmocological and cognitive-behavioral therapeuric interventions, with
mixed results. My research applies innovative neurotechnologies for neural self-
regulation and control in clinical populations to investigate whether patients can be
trained to modulate and correct abnormal brain leading to symptom improvements
and behavioral changes. The intellectual merit of this work is that it will ultimately
lead to a scientific understanding of the mechanism of volitional control of brain
activity and its effect on behavior and physiology.