We can easily name brain functions, and we are well informed about brain structure. However, it is not easy to bridge the gap between the two. Part of the problem is that simple circuit mechanisms do not directly give rise to high-level functions. Yet, they already implement simpler forms of information processing, a sort ofLire la suite « Decomposing neural functions into information processing primitives? »
Archives de l’étiquette : FunSy
Dynamic before time-averaged Functional Connectivity is destructured in Alzheimer’s Disease
Brain functions emerge from the coordinated dynamics of many brain regions. Dynamic functional connectivity (dFC) analyses are a key tool to describe such dynamic complexity and have been shown to be good predictors of cognitive performance. This is particularly true in the case of Alzheimer’s disease (AD) in which an impoverished dFC could indicate compromisedLire la suite « Dynamic before time-averaged Functional Connectivity is destructured in Alzheimer’s Disease »
From Event Related Potentials to Event Related Variability
In carefully designed experimental paradigms, cognitive scientists interpret the mean event-related potentials (ERP) in terms of cognitive operations. However, the huge signal variability from one trial to the next, questions the representability of such mean events. In our NeuroImage paper in collaboration with Ghislaine Dehaene (Neurospin, Paris-Saclay), we explored whether this variability is an unwantedLire la suite « From Event Related Potentials to Event Related Variability »
When neural manifolds are useful to repair signal artifacts
Electrophysiology recordings are frequently affected by artifacts (e.g., subject motion or eye movements), which reduces the number of available trials and affects the statistical power. When artifacts are unavoidable and data are scarce, signal reconstruction algorithms that allow for the retention of sufficient trials become crucial. In our paper published on Sensors, in collaboration withLire la suite « When neural manifolds are useful to repair signal artifacts »
Brain-wide networks reorganize as mice learn a new task
Learning is not only a matter of strengthening activity in one brain region. Goal-directed behavior depends on distributed networks linking cortex, basal ganglia, thalamus, hippocampus and other structures. How these large-scale interactions reorganize as an animal learns a task remains a central question in systems neuroscience. In collaboration with Fritjof Helmchen and colleagues at theLire la suite « Brain-wide networks reorganize as mice learn a new task »
Densely tied in space… but also for a sufficient time!
Functional interactions between brain regions or neurons have been described using features defined in network theory. For instance, the rich club phenomenon correspond to having high-degree nodes connected between them above chance-level. In our new Nature Physics paper we generalize this notion to dynamic networks. Indeed, in order for a certain spatial pattern in networkLire la suite « Densely tied in space… but also for a sufficient time! »
Making multivariate neural data analysis more reliable
Together with Fritjof Helmchen’s group at the University of Zurich, we addressed a methodological problem that becomes increasingly important as neuroscience moves toward large-scale, multi-region recordings: how can we reliably infer statistical relationships between several neural signals at once? Many analyses of neural data still rely on pairwise measures, such as correlations between two regionsLire la suite « Making multivariate neural data analysis more reliable »
Graph-based features to capture the embodiment of adaptive behavior
The cerebellar cortex encodes sensorimotor adaptation during skilled locomotor behaviors, however the precise relationship between synaptic connectivity and behavior is unclear. In our recent Nature Communications paper (in collaboration with Philippe Isope’s group at INCI, Strasbourg), we studied synaptic connectivity between granule cells (GCs) and Purkinje cells (PCs) in murine acute cerebellar slices using photostimulationLire la suite « Graph-based features to capture the embodiment of adaptive behavior »
How sensory information is routed through the cortex during short-term memory
When an animal makes a decision, sensory information must be transformed into an action — but this transformation is not instantaneous. Often, the brain has to hold information in short-term memory before acting on it. A central question is therefore how sensory signals travel through the cortex, where they are maintained during a delay, andLire la suite « How sensory information is routed through the cortex during short-term memory »
The speed and geometry of resting state dynamic Functional Connectivity
We are happy announcing that a diptych of publications on resting dynamic Functional Connectivity is finally out on NeuroImage! Functional Connectivity (FC) measured on resting state fMRI is dynamic and continually reconfiguring. However these variations are not necessarily very large and discrete state transitions are difficult (or questionable) to identify. Here we introduce a newLire la suite « The speed and geometry of resting state dynamic Functional Connectivity »