Cory Inman

I am interested in how the human brain makes real, rich, complex memories that last and working on ways to fix episodic memory when it fails. The ultimate goal of the lab is to explain real-world behavior in terms of the activities of the brain and to translate these discoveries into therapeutic approaches that can help those suffering from neural disorders. My laboratory performs studies that dissect the emotion and memory functions of the human brain across three complimentary lines of research focused on:

1. Understanding the dynamic organization of neural circuits from single neurons to whole brain networks during emotion and memory processes using human intracranial electrophysiology and functional neuroimaging,
2. Modulating the activity and organization of these networks to gain control of emotional experience or enhance memory using direct brain stimulation in humans, and
3. Translating these laboratory-based discoveries to neuromodulation therapies that can restore functional behavior in real-world settings to help those suffering with neural disorders.

My research draws upon theoretical perspectives and experimental techniques from multiple fields, including network neuroscience, cognitive science, neuroengineering, virtual reality (VR), augmented reality (AR), human neurophysiology, and neuromodulation. The lab's research program is constructed upon studies using behavioral, neuroimaging, and neuromodulation approaches to study how the brain operates in traditional laboratory experiments with the explicit objective to gradually work towards neuroscience studies of real-world cognitive behaviors that extend from laboratory-based discoveries. 

In order to work with epilepsy patients that have implanted recording and stimulation electrodes to monitor and treat their seizures, our lab works closely with the Neurosurgery and Neurology departments at the University of Utah. Specifically, we work directly with John Rolston, MD, PhD (Neurosurgeon, Rolston Lab), and Elliot Smith, PhD among other neurosurgeons across the country. 

Fundamental questions my lab will examine include: 

• How does the brain respond to experiences in the real-world and can direct brain stimulation enhance memory for real-world experiences?
• How does amygdala stimulation affect activity in other parts its connected network and how do these changes relate to emotional behavior? 
• How does oscillatory activity in the brain reorganize as people retrieve autobiographical memories? 

OPPORTUNITIES FOR STUDENTS:

I am currently recruiting graduate students to work with my lab starting this Fall. Students will have the opportunity to learn how to innovate, design, and implement eye-tracking, psychophysiology, functional MRI, human intracranial EEG, and deep brain stimulation studies from a cognitive neuroscience perspective while developing a unique research program of their own. In particular, the lab is seeking students who want to push the boundaries of studying the human brain in real-world settings and work towards translating these studies to solutions that can be applied to treating disorders of emotion and memory. 

Students also have the opportunity to publish on existing data sets that include 40+ amygdala-stimulation for memory enhancement datasets and ~250 intracranial EEG recording and stimulation datasets from patients that participated in the DARPA Restoring Active Memory project. 

We will also be recruiting a postdoctoral fellow to help lead a NIMH R01-funded project aimed at examining the mechanisms of amygdala-mediated memory enhancement in humans. Trainees in this position will also have the opportunity to help develop and apply approaches to recording and stimulating the human brain in VR, AR, and real-world settings using the Neuropace RNS and other implantable systems.