EPFL Researchers Develop Logsync Chip to Treat Psychiatric Disorders

Researchers at the École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne (EPFL) have developed a microchip designed to monitor brain activity and deliver targeted electrical stimulation to treat psychiatric disorders. The device, measuring approximately four by two millimeters and named Logsync, aims to improve the precision of therapies for conditions such as severe depression, post-traumatic stress disorder, and obsessive-compulsive disorder.

How the Logsync chip functions

The Logsync chip operates by capturing electrical brain signals to analyze the strength and synchrony of communication between different brain regions. The device utilizes a machine-learning algorithm to evaluate these patterns, allowing the system to distinguish between various cognitive and emotional states. When the system identifies specific neural markers associated with these states, it can trigger targeted electrical stimulation.

The chip is engineered for high efficiency, consuming less than 200 microwatts of power. This low energy requirement is intended to make the device suitable for use in implantable systems, where only little energy is available. The chip’s ability to process signals while maintaining such a small physical footprint represents a potential advancement over existing deep brain stimulation systems, which often do not continuously adapt their impulses to real-time brain activity or only monitor a single region of the brain.

Testing phases and research findings

The research team, led by Mahsa Shoaran, has conducted preliminary tests using human brain signals collected from previous studies. During these trials, the algorithm successfully differentiated between levels of cognitive engagement during specific tasks and identified emotional arousal while subjects viewed video clips. Additional experiments involving rats were conducted at the University of Minnesota, where the system triggered stimulation impulses based on specific phases of brain activity.

These findings were published in the IEEE Journal of Solid-State Circuits. While deep brain stimulation is currently an established treatment for movement disorders like Parkinson’s disease, its application for psychiatric conditions remains an area of active research. The EPFL team suggests that because communication disruptions between brain regions are often associated with psychiatric disorders, a device capable of measuring and responding to these specific patterns could offer a more precise therapeutic approach.

Development milestones toward clinical application

Despite the successful initial tests, the technology is not yet ready for use in humans. The researchers emphasize that further development steps are required before the chip can be applied in a clinical psychiatric setting.

This development follows earlier medical interventions involving the brain, such as the case in Australia where surgeons removed a live, eight-centimeter-long parasitic worm from a 64-year-old woman’s brain after she experienced memory problems.

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