In the lab we study the cognitive neuroscience of vision, perception and attention in the adult human brain. We use noninvasive brain stimulation to study brain/behavior relation and to enhance brain functions in healthy subjects and in stroke patients. We use brain stimulation techniques such as transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), and direct current stimulation (tACS, tDCS and tRNS) coupled with behavioral training. We also use brain imaging (fMRI and EEG) to measure the functional changes after brain stimulation. Work in my research lab focuses on the study of impaired cognitive functions in the diseased brain, and, more recently, we have been working to further test and refine our recently published tRNS-based treatment of visual cortical blindness, a severely debilitating visual deficit a consequence of cortical lesion to the visual areas after a stroke. We are now running an NIH-registered clinical trial at the Beth Israel Hospital to collect more data on this promising procedure, and we are using fMRI and EEG to measure cortical changes as markers of the behavioral improvement. We are also testing other visual capabilities beyond the trained motion-perception task to examine whether the improvement transfers to other visual modalities within the damaged field. These experiments address the broader issue that is crucial to patients: does a procedure improve quality of life? Our innovative work might help identify how cognitive functions could be preserved/improved using noninvasive current stimulation as therapeutic treatment. In collaboration with other labs, we are also developing new protocols to treat Alzheimer’s Disease and fronto-temporal dementia.