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Inception Loops for Epilepsy

Award Number: F31NS143314
ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE
OPDIV: NIH
AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY
AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/15/2026
PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/14/2029

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Inception Loops for Epilepsy - PROJECT ABSTRACT Epilepsy is a debilitating and life-threatening condition, affecting 1% of the US population. A signiﬁcant portion of these patients have seizures that do not respond to medication therapy. Neurostimulation is often an effective treatment method for these patients, but only in an adjuvant capacity. The seizure reduction experienced by patients is far from curative, and stimulation treatments rarely result in seizure freedom. By contrast, resective surgery, the gold standard in care for drug-resistant epilepsy, reliably results in sustained seizure freedom and an improved quality of life. However, it is important to note that surgery, despite its potential beneﬁts, is a highly invasive procedure that carries certain risks and adverse effects. Moreover, its major limitation is that its use is restricted to brain regions that can be removed without causing a loss of essential neurological function. We believe that the limited effectiveness of current neurostimulation devices can be attributed to the crudeness of stimulation they provide. The brain, being a complex and non-linear system, requires a modulatory approach that matches its intricate nature when targeting networks involved in epilepsy. Achieving optimal control over these networks is likely to necessitate a complex approach. Therefore, we hypothesize that the generation of more complex patterns will allow for better engagement and modulation of these networks. Here we present a novel platform that offers an unprecedented ability to optimize the design of pulse sequences with complex spatiotemporal relationships for the control of epileptic activity. By combining a cutting-edge method for designing high-entropy stimuli and deep learning, we will demonstrate the ability to infer optimized stimulation for seizure control in a rat model. Our paradigm is based on adapting our Inception Loops paradigm, a deep learning framework for solving high-dimensional, non-linear optimization problems in neuroscience, for the pur- pose of constructing multi-patterned stimuli that are optimized to control epileptic activity. The ﬁrst step involves building data-driven neural predictive models of targeted brain areas, taking ongoing brain activity and stochastic, high-entropy electrical stimulation patterns as input to predict neural activity. Then, in silico optimization identiﬁes those dynamic stimulation patterns across many stimulation channels that suppress epileptic activity, which are then veriﬁed in vivo. The study detailed below will investigate the optimization of multi-pattern stimuli in two complementary rodent models. Finally, we will perform a ﬁrst-in-human study to investigate the ability of multi-pattern stimulation to con- trol interictal epileptiform discharges as a seizure likelihood proxy in patients undergoing intracranial evaluation.


Issue Date FY	Funding FY	Legal Entity Name	Legal Entity Address	Legal Entity City	Legal Entity State	Legal Entity Zip Code	Legal Entity COUNTY	Legal Entity COUNTRY	Assistance Listing	Award Code	Budget Year	Action Date	Action Type	Action Amount

Issue Date FY: 2026 ( Subtotal = $50,114 )
2026	2026	BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE	1 BAYLOR PLZ	HOUSTON	TX	77030	HARRIS	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	000	1	3/30/2026	NEW	$49,538
2026	2026	BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE	1 BAYLOR PLZ	HOUSTON	TX	77030	HARRIS	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	001	1	4/15/2026	NEW	$576
2026	2026	BAYLOR COLLEGE OF MEDICINE	1 BAYLOR PLZ	HOUSTON	TX	77030	HARRIS	USA	Extramural Research Programs in the Neurosciences and Neurological Disorders	002	1	4/15/2026	NEW	$0
														Subtotal = $50,114

Grand Total All Awards = $50,114

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Inception Loops for Epilepsy

Award Number: F31NS143314

ORGANIZATION: NATIONAL INSTITUTE OF NEUROLOGICAL DISORDERS AND STROKE

OPDIV: NIH

AWARD CLASS: DISCRETIONARY

AWARD ACTIVITY TYPE: FELLOWSHIP/SCHOLARSHIP/STUDENT LOANS

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE START DATE: 04/15/2026

PERIOD OF PERFORMANCE END DATE: 02/14/2029

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