VISE Spring Seminar -Shawniqua Williams Roberson, MEng, MD
VISE seminar to be led by
Shawniqua Williams Roberson, M.Eng., M.D.
Assistant Professor
Departments of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering
Vanderbilt University Medical Center
Vanderbilt University
Date: Thursday, January 19, 2023
Time: 11:45 a.m. Lunch, 12:00 p.m. start
Location: Stevenson 5326
Title:
Neural Signal Processing Applications in Disorders of Consciousness and Cognition
Abstract:
Electroencephalography (EEG) provides a window into brain physiologic function at multiple scales. In this seminar, we will explore ways in which EEG signal processing can be used to gain insight to brain functions associated with various disorders consciousness and cognitive processes. (1) Spectral patterns in scalp EEG help us understand possible neuroanatomic mechanisms underlying the paradoxical arousals demonstrated in some patients with chronic, severe brain injury. (2) High gamma activity patterns in intracranial EEG recordings offer a window to cognitive processes associated with language and memory functions. (3) EEG spectral variability may also be an indicator of delirium and predictor of long-term cognitive dysfunction in critically ill patients. Our findings provide a foundation for use of EEG metrics to guide cognitive rehabilitation after critical illness. Yet there are a number of unanswered questions that impact the use and interpretation of these findings, making EEG signal processing in disorders of consciousness and cognition an area of study that is ripe for discovery.
Short Bio:
Dr. Williams Roberson is an Assistant Professor in the departments of Neurology and Biomedical Engineering at Vanderbilt University. She currently serves as the clinical director of ICU EEG at Vanderbilt University Medical Center and a junior investigator in the Critical Illness, Brain Dysfunction and Survivorship (CIBS) Center. Her clinical interests include the evaluation and management of refractory epilepsy, critical illness encephalopathy (ICU delirium) and related neurological disorders, with an emphasis on their cognitive and neuropsychiatric comorbidities. Her research interests center on the use of neurophysiologic signal processing and neuromodulation to study and ameliorate disorders of consciousness and cognition among people with epilepsy, ICU delirium and post-intensive care syndrome (PICS). She receives funding support from the National Institute on Aging (K23 AG072030) and the Brain & Behavior Research Foundation.