Recent technological advancements in neuroprosthetics allow for wireless recording and stimulation of brain activity in freely moving human participants. At the same time, advancements in virtual and augmented reality (VR/AR) and other wearable technologies are occurring at an unprecedented rate. I will discuss our recently developed platform that allows for wireless and programmable recording and stimulation of deep brain activity in freely moving human participants integrated with wearable sensors (e.g., heart rate, skin conductance, respiration, eye tracking, and scalp EEG) and VR/AR technologies. This research platform allows for a naturalistic and ecologically valid environment for elucidating the neural mechanisms underlying freely moving human behaviors in the real world. As a proof-of-concept, I will present data captured from this platform that provides insight into deep brain oscillatory dynamics that underlie human spatial navigation and episodic memory in real and virtual environments.

Learning Objectives:

1. To learn about new opportunities that enable the study of the human brain in naturalistic settings
2. To gain understanding of the brain mechanisms that support navigation and memory in humans