PROVIDENCE, R.I. [Brown University] — U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse and U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin will visit two Brown University labs Friday afternoon to observe examples of brain science research. With more than 100 researchers and physicians working in University labs and at affiliated hospitals, Brown is advancing basic knowledge and informing clinical efforts to address conditions ranging from severe paralysis, to depression, to epilepsy, to Alzheimer’s disease.

The tour, which follows a private meeting with University brain science researchers, begins at 1:15 p.m. in the lab of engineer Arto Nurmikko, who works on wireless implantable brain sensors. Neuroscientists can use such devices to observe, record, and analyze the signals emitted by scores of neurons in particular parts of a subject’s brain.

The group will then visit the Virtual Environment Navigation Lab in the Department of Cognitive, Linguistic, and Psychological Sciences. In the lab scientists led by William Warren study how people perceive an environment and then make decisions to move through it or interact within it in other ways.

Reporters are welcome to join the tour beginning at 1:15 p.m. The tour should last until about 2:45 p.m.

Who
U.S. Sen. Sheldon Whitehouse;
U.S. Rep. Jim Langevin;
Arto Nurmikko, professor engineering;
John Donoghue, director of the Brown Institute for Brain Science, research scientist at the Providence VA Medical Center;
John Davenport, associate director, BIBS;
John Robson, associate director, BIBS, administrative director, Norman Prince Neurosciences Institute.

What
Tours of two brain science labs, covering neural engineering device development and human behavior

When
1:15 to 2:45 p.m., Friday, June 7

Where
Tours begin at Barus and Holley building, Hope and George streets. Reporters can meet David Orenstein in the building lobby.

The VEN Lab is in Metcalf Laboratory, Waterman and Thayer streets.