The Neurodevelopmental Research Laboratory in the Department of Neurological Surgery is focused on studying the developmental bases for multiple disorders affecting the nervous system, particularly in children. Dr. Ghatan heads basic and clinical studies in early neural development and childhood epilepsy, respectively. Basic studies in neural tube closure, using a murine model and whole embryo culture, are done in collaboration with Virginia E. Papaioannou, Ph.D., Professor of Genetics and Development. Cerebellar development and the most common malignant brain tumor in children, medulloblastoma, are closely related: medulloblastoma seem to arise from normal developmental processes gone awry. Dr. Ghatan is focusing on developmental genes that might give rise to these tumors, in an effort to identify targets for therapy and prevention in the future, against this otherwise lethal brain tumor.

Clinical studies are directed at developing imaging techniques to enhance the safety and efficacy of epilepsy surgery in children. Two studies are ongoing utilizing functional MRI (fMRI) techniques. In collaboration with Joy Hirsch, M.D., Director of the fMRI Research Center in the Neurological Institute, Dr. Ghatan is working to develop less invasive methods to map seizure onsets in children and adults with epilepsy using electroencephalography coupled with fMRI. Epilepsy is often tied to pschiatric comorbidity, and in collaboration with Frank Gilliam, M.D., Director of the Comprehensive Epilepsy Center, and Bradley S. Peterson, Director of the fMRI Research Center in the New York State Psychiatric Institute, fMRI is being used to map novel neuroanatomical pathways linking these two problems.