Complex System Laboratory at the Neurology Department The University of Chicago

Clinical Interests
 

Dr. Milton's clinical interests focus on the treatment and management of patients with medically intractable epilepsy.  Particular emphasis is given to the identification and investigation of candidates who will benefit from surgical treatment of their epilepsy, including implantation of vagal nerve stimulators.  In addition he is actively involved in developing treatment strategies to improve the quality of life of mentally challenged individuals with epilepsy and their caretakers.  He runs an adult epilepsy clinic at the University of Chicago as well as two offsite epilepsy clinics: one in South Bend, Indiana, the other at the Ludemann Developmental Center.  He is Co-Director of the Clinical Neurophysiology Laboratories and supervises investigations of epilepsy patients ranging from the implantation of sphenoidal, subdural and depth electrodes to intraoperative corticopgraphy.

Currently Dr. Milton is working on a new clinical project: the development of a golf neurology clinic.  This clinic will focus on the rehabilitation of older patients who have lost their ability or interest to play golf due to a concurrent neurological illness, such as epilepsy, stroke, disc disease, movement disorder, multiple sclerosis, etc.  In addition this clinic will use golf related activities as part of a neural rehabilitation  program.  A motion analysis laboratory has been developed to study the neural control of complex skilled movements, such as the golf swing.
 

Dr. Milton's research interests closely dovetail with his clinical activities.  The main emphasis is the mathematical and experimental investigation of neural feedback control mechanisms.  The goal of this research is not just to observe some novel behavior, but is to yield sufficient experimental data so that theories based on known physiological mechanisms can be posed and then tested experimentally.  In this way it should be possible to develop an understanding of the origins of dynamical behaviors seen in human disease and then, hopefully, devise more effective therapeutic strategies.  One project has the aim of developing a 'brain defibrillator', i.e. an implanted device which would detect the onset of a seizure and then deliver an appropriate stimulus to abort it.  A second project involves the control of human posture with the goal of developing strategies to prevent falling in the elderly.