The Method
Electrophysiological recording of the activity of multiple individual neurons is a classical

and rapidly advancing neurophysiological technique and recently part of a therapeutic

innovation. This approach employs placing multiple microelectrodes close to the same or different

neurons and thus sensing electrical signals underlying neuronal communication - action

potentials also called spikes. Monitoring neuronal activity during free behavior has been

implemented across species including mice, rats, monkeys and humans.

 

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Translational Neurometrics
Neuronal recordings in the intact brain have generated most of the results

underpinning our current understanding of the brain mechanisms behind

perception, motivation, emotion, cognition, and movement. Seminal discoveries

have identified brain-region-specific neural activities leading to defensive

responses, innate drives such as hunger and aggression, distinct forms of

memory, and even abstract internal models of the world. Crucially, the neural

activity patterns have been reproduced and elaborated across sensory

stimulation conditions and behavioral task designs.

 

More recently, real-time opto- and pharmacogentic manipulations of neural activity

have enabled the induction or inhibition of specific behaviors by mimicking or

inhibiting neural activity in individual brain regions and at specific times.

This compelling evidence suggests that the firing of neurons and their populations

according to the relevant  dimensions of a behavioral task can serve as highly

sensitive measures of motivations, emotions, or cognitive processes. To differentiate

these spontaneous activity patterns from biochemical and evoked activity biomarkers,

we call them neurometrics of brain functions.

The demonstration of the specificity of neurometrics for motivational drives, emotions,

or cognitive processes has involved laboratory rodents, primates,

as well as intracranial recordings in humans. The cross-species validity makes our
selection of neurometrics an effective translational tool for discovering new therapies

to enhance brain functions impaired by neuropsychiatric disorders.​

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Expertise and Leadership
Guided by the expertise of Dr. Ponomarenko (Professor of Systems Neurophysiology

at the FAU Erlangen-Nürnberg), our company's founding scientist, we build on an

established track record of innovation in neuroscience. He pioneered the application

of high-density silicon probes to record the neuronal activity in various brain regions of

freely behaving mice. These exceptionally fine probes, thinner than a neuron, minimally

impact the neural networks being measured. Silicon probes are now widely used in

research and clinical applications, and we have accumulated over two decades of

experience in this field. Our extensive expertise in behavioral analysis and in vivo

pharmacology enables us to accurately  integrate behavioral tasks with neuronal

activity recordings and drug testing, deepening our understanding of treatment effects.