Rutishauser Lab

The Rutishauser Laboratory at Cedars-Sinai is investigating the neural mechanisms of learning, memory and decision-making level of single neurons and networks thereof. We are a systems neuroscience laboratory and use a combination of in-vivo, single-unit electrophysiology in humans, intracranial electrocorticography, eye tracking, electrical stimulation, behavior and computational, and theoretical approaches. We have helped pioneer the technique of human single-neuron recordings and continue to advance the tools, methods and surgical techniques that allow such experiments. The Rutishauser Laboratory has an ongoing close collaboration with scientists at the California Institute of Technology.

Our overarching goal is to capitalize on special neurosurgical situations to advance knowledge of the human nervous system. Our work is only possible because of a close collaboration between quantitative and experimental neuroscientists, neurologists and neurosurgeons—combining science and medicine.

Work in the Rutishauser Laboratory is made possible by funding provided by the National Science Foundation, National Institutes of Health, Brain & Behavior Research Foundation and the McKnight Endowment Fund for Neuroscience.

The Rutishauser Laboratory is located in the Department of Neurosurgery and the Maxine Dunitz Neurosurgical Institute and is also affiliated with the Neurology Department, the Center for Neural Science and Medicine, and the Department of Biomedical Sciences.