About

At the Liou Lab, we’re passionate about exploring how anesthesia affects the brain. Our ultimate goal? To uncover new ways to use anesthetics in diagnosing and treating conditions like sleep disorders, epilepsy, and other neuropsychiatric challenges.

How We Work

We use a combination of cutting-edge techniques to study the brain. Our toolkit includes:
• Electrophysiology: Recording the brain’s electrical signals to understand how neurons communicate.
• Advanced Optical Imaging: Using various microscopic methods to visualize brain activity in real-time.
• Computer Modeling: Building simulations to make sense of complex brain dynamics.
Our research mainly focuses on transgenic mice, but we’re also part of a broader network that studies human brain activity using intracranial EEG recordings. This connection allows us to bridge insights from basic science to clinical applications.

Our Main Research Areas

1. Anesthesia, Consciousness, and Sleep: Unlocking Brain States

Have you ever wondered what happens to you when you fall asleep or undergo general anesthesia? Both states involve profound changes in brain activity, including the emergence of slow waves—large, rhythmic patterns of neural activity. These slow waves help reset the brain, restoring its balance and stability.

We’re investigating:
a. How brain activity under anesthesia differs from or resembles sleep.
b. How these patterns help maintain healthy brain function.

Our goal is to explore whether anesthetics can be used to treat sleep disorders or help patients recover from sleep disturbances caused by illness or stress.

2. Epilepsy and Neural Network Dynamics: A New Frontier

Epilepsy is a condition where the brain’s normal activity becomes disrupted, leading to seizures. At the Liou Lab, we study how the brain’s neural networks change during the onset of epilepsy—a process called epileptogenesis.

We’re asking questions like:
a. How do brain cells and networks change as epilepsy develops?
b. Can we intervene early to stop or slow the process?

To answer these, we use animal models to simulate the progression of epilepsy and test new therapies, including using anesthetics to adjust how brain cells learn and connect. Our work aims to develop better treatments for epilepsy and provide hope to the millions of people living with this condition.

Join Us on This Exciting Journey

The Liou Lab sits at the intersection of biology, engineering, and neuroscience. Whether you’re curious about the brain, passionate about solving medical mysteries, or just excited to learn something new, we invite you to follow our discoveries and explore the fascinating world of anesthesia and brain science with us.