Neurophysiology
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Department of Integrative Biology and Physiology
Assistant Professor
Arcadia Science
A Bit About Us: We are Arcadia Science. Arcadia is a well-funded for-profit biology research and development company founded and led by scientists. Our mission is to give a community of researchers the freedom and tools to be adventurous, to discover, and to make scientific exploration financially self-sustaining in the life sciences. We are inspired by the spirit of exploration and aspire to evolve how science is done, who it attracts and rewards, and what it can achieve. Research @ Arcadia: At Arcadia, we are building an intramural research and development program that will encompass three areas: (1) emerging organismal biology, (2) enabling research technologies, and (3) translational development. Research areas will be carried out by independent scientists and those working together towards shared goals. Projects will be collaborative in nature and pursue science that is more high-risk and exploratory than typical life science research programs. We will invest heavily in creative technologies that can invent new research tools or optimize workflows for emerging organismal systems. In addition to conducting research, Arcadia scientists will drive engagement with the broader scientific community in order to maximize the impact of our work and identify research areas and needs that Arcadia may be uniquely positioned to address.
Professors Yale cohen and Jennifer groh
Yale Cohen (U. Penn; https://auditoryresearchlaboratory.weebly.com/) and Jennifer Groh (Duke U.; www.duke.edu/~jmgroh) seeks a full-time post-doctoral scholar. Our labs study visual, auditory, and multisensory processing in the brain using neurophysiological and computational techniques. We have a newly funded NIH grant to study the contribution of corticofugal connectivity in non-human primate models of auditory perception. The work will take place at the Penn site. This will be a full-time, 12-month renewable appointment. Salary will be commensurate with experience and consistent with NIH NRSA stipends. To apply, send your CV along with contact information for 2 referees to: compneuro@sas.upenn.edu. For questions, please contact Yale Cohen (ycohen@pennmedicine.upenn.edu). Applications will be considered on a rolling basis, and we anticipate a summer 2022 start date. Penn is an Affirmative Action / Equal Opportunity Employer committed to providing employment opportunity without regard to an individual’s age, color, disability, gender, gender expression, gender identity, genetic information, national origin, race, religion, sex, sexual orientation, or veteran status
Dr. David Omer
Our research program is aimed at elucidating the neural mechanisms of social cognition and navigation in the brain, using a combination of computational and experimental techniques. Positions are available for projects related to the neural basis of social cognition in the hippocampus, and the neural basis of spatial navigation in freely behaving animals. using wireless neural recordings techniques.
Prof Richard Smith
The Smith lab is seeking team members to conduct exciting research in human neurodevelopment and models of neuronal activity in the prenatal brain. Interested applicants can expect to work in an environment that promotes autonomy and all the resources to develop and expand the several ongoing research projects of the lab. These include, but are not limited to, questions relating to human brain development, human disease modeling (using high throughput approaches), and therapeutics. Current NIH funded projects are examining ion flux and biophysical properties of developing cell types in the prenatal brain, specifically as is relates to childhood diseases. As a trainee you will have to opportunity gain expertise in several state-of the art approaches widely used to interrogate important aspects of neurodevelopment, including human stem cell cerebral organoid models, single cell sequencing (RNA/ATAC), high-content confocal microscopy/screening, ferret model of cortex development and hiPSC derived neuronal models (excitatory, dopamine, inhibitory). Additional physiology approaches include, 2-photon imaging, high-throughput electrophysiology, patch-clamp, and calcium/voltage imaging. Please visit our website for details about our research, www.rsmithlab.com
Prof Richard Smith
The Smith lab is seeking a team members to conduct exciting research in human neurodevelopment and models of neuronal activity in the prenatal brain. Interested applicants can expect to work in an environment that promotes autonomy and all the resources to develop and expand the several ongoing research projects of the lab. These include, but are not limited to, questions relating to human brain development, human disease modeling (using high throughput approaches), and therapeutics. Current NIH funded projects are examining ion flux and biophysical properties of developing cell types in the prenatal brain, specifically as is relates to childhood diseases. As a trainee you will have to opportunity gain expertise in several state-of the art approaches widely used to interrogate important aspects of neurodevelopment, including human stem cell cerebral organoid models, single cell sequencing (RNA/ATAC), high-content confocal microscopy/screening, ferret model of cortex development and hiPSC derived neuronal models (excitatory, dopamine, inhibitory). Additional physiology approaches include, 2-photon imaging, high-throughput electrophysiology, patch-clamp, and calcium/voltage imaging. Please visit our website for details about our research, www.rsmithlab.com
Prof David Brang
We are seeking a full-time post-doctoral research fellow to study computational and neuroscientific models of perception and cognition. The research fellow will be jointly supervised by Dr. David Brang (https://sites.lsa.umich.edu/brang-lab/) and Zhongming Liu (https://libi.engin.umich.edu). The goal of this collaboration is to build computational models of cognitive and perceptual processes using data combined from electrocorticography (ECoG) and fMRI. The successful applicant will also have freedom to conduct additional research based on their interests, using a variety of methods -- ECoG, fMRI, DTI, lesion mapping, and EEG. The ideal start date is from spring to fall 2021 and the position is expected to last for at least two years, with the possibility of extension for subsequent years. We are also recruiting a Post-Doc for research on multisensory interactions (particularly how vision modulates speech perception) using Cognitive Neuroscience techniques or to help with our large-scale brain tumor collaboration with Shawn Hervey-Jumper at UCSF (https://herveyjumperlab.ucsf.edu). In this latter collaboration we collect iEEG (from ~50 patients/year) and lesion mapping data (from ~150 patients/year) in patients with a brain tumor to study sensory and cognitive functions in patients. The goals of this project are to better understand the physiology of tumors, study causal mechanisms of brain functions, and generalize iEEG/ECoG findings from epilepsy patients to a second patient population.
Assoc. Prof. John Seymour
Our highest priority opening is a BCI or animal experimentalist with domain knowledge of machine learning, biophysics, mathematics, and translation. Two current project positions are open: (1) BCI application of novel, patent-pending depth electrode array, and (2) developing a higher resolution epilepsy diagnostic tool.
Dr. Erika Eggers
The Eggers Lab in the UArizona Departments of Physiology and Biomedical Engineering is seeking highly motivated candidates for the full-time position of Postdoctoral Research Associate I. Dr. Eggers’s NIH-funded research incorporates physiological light stimulation, electrophysiology, immunohistochemical and optogenetic approaches to identify cellular, synaptic and molecular mechanisms that underlie changes in retinal neurons in diabetes. The goal of current studies is to determine how retinal calcium and dopamine signaling are altered in multiple levels of the rod pathway during early stages of diabetes and to identify potential targets for treatment. More information on our current research interests can be found at: http://eggerslab.sites.arizona.edu/.
Prof. Roberto Vincis
The Vincis Lab in the Florida State University (FSU) Department of Biological Science and Program in Neuroscience is seeking a team-oriented and highly motivated candidates for the full-time position of Postdoctoral Research Associate. The research in the lab use animal models to investigate the basis of our ability to decide and plan our eating behaviors and dietary choices. The motivation to eat depends greatly on the chemo- and somatosensory properties of food and the reward experienced while eating. To this end we combine behavioral, chemo- and optogenetic, high density electrophysiology, calcium imaging and immunohistochemical approaches with the broad goal of understanding the forebrain circuits for intra-oral perception and learning. More information on our current research interests and the lab can be found at: https://www.bio.fsu.edu/vincislab/ .
Prof. Itzhak Fried, MD, PhD
The research involves the investigations of the neural mechanisms of memory and cognition in humans. We collect and analyze electrophysiological data including single neuron activity and local field potentials from human epilepsy patients during a variety of memory and cognitive tasks during the awake/sleep cycle, examine the relationships between neural signals and behavior, as well as the effects of electrical stimulation (applied in a closed/open-loop fashion) on neural signals and cognition.
Mark Shein-Idelson
Project: The Evolution and Function of Ancestral Brain States Abstract: One of the oldest enigmas in neuroscience is the function of brain states. During these states, dramatic transitions occur in the firing patterns of neurons in the cerebral cortex. These transitions are correlated with behavior during wakefulness but, strikingly, are even more prominent during sleep, when interaction with the environment is limited. The similarities between sleep and awake patterns remains unexplained, thus complicating our understanding of the global function of brain states. Additionally, state transitions are prominent in both the cortex and hippocampus, but the interplay between these areas during different states remains ambiguous. Why is the function of brain states so elusive? A likely explanation is that state transitions are inextricably intertwined with many other processes, rendering their dissection difficult. This project is motivated by the notion that to understand brain states we need to: a) examine them in a simpler model system, b) understand how they evolved, c) identify which state properties are fundamental and which are species specific. Studying brain states in the cerebral cortex of reptiles offers a unique opportunity for achieving all three goals: We utilize the simpler and highly structured state organization in Pogona Vitticeps, to expose the full repertoire of brain states in a naturally behaving animal. We take advantage of the limited diversity of motor movements in Pogona, to expose the link between population patterns and defined behaviors. We furthermore exploit the unique evolutionary positions of reptiles as closest to stem amniotes, in which the layered cortex and hippocampus first emerged, to reveal the forces that pushed the emergence of brain states in evolution. Finally, through a comparative analysis of brain state properties between different lizards and mammals we can extract the fundamental properties and functions of brain states and the network that supports them.
Prof Jakob Macke
How do neural circuits in the human brain recognize objects, persons and actions from complex visual stimuli? To address these questions, we will develop deep convolutional neural networks for modelling how neurons in high-level human brain areas respond to complex visual information. We will make use of a unique dataset of neurophysiological recordings of single-unit activity and field potentials recorded from the medial temporal lobe of epilepsy patients. Our tools will open up avenues for a range of new investigations in cognitive and clinical neuroscience, and may inspire new artificial vision systems. The position is part of a collaboration with the `Dynamic Vision and Learning’ Group at TU Munich (Prof. Dr. Laura Leal-Taixé) and the Cognitive and Clinical Neurophysiology Group at University Hospital Bonn (Prof. Dr. Dr. Mormann). Our group develop computational methods that help scientists interpret empirical data, with a focus on basic and clinical neuroscience research. We want to understand how neuronal networks in the brain process sensory information and control intelligent behaviour, and use this knowledge to develop methods for the diagnosis and therapy of neuronal dysfunction. More details at https://uni-tuebingen.de/en/196976
Dr. Ziad Nahas
Dr. Ziad Nahas (Interventional Psychiatry Lab) in the University of Minnesota Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is seeking an outstanding candidate for a postdoctoral position to conduct and analyze the effects of neuromodulation on brain activity in mood disorders. Candidates should be passionate about advancing knowledge in the area of translational research of depressive disorders and other mental health conditions with a focus on invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation treatments. The position is available June 1, 2023, and funding is available for at least two years.
Dr. Ziad Nahas
Dr. Ziad Nahas (Interventional Psychiatry Lab) in the University of Minnesota Department of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences is seeking an outstanding candidate for a postdoctoral position to conduct and analyze the effects of neuromodulation on brain activity in mood disorders. Candidates should be passionate about advancing knowledge in the area of translational research of depressive disorders and other mental health conditions with a focus on invasive and non-invasive brain stimulation treatments. The position is available June 1, 2023, and funding is available for at least two years.
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Two Postdoctoral Research Associates in Neurorobotics are required for a period of 48 months to work on the Horizon/InnovateUK project “PRIMI: Performance in Robots Interaction via Mental Imagery. This is a collaborative project of the University of Manchester’s Cognitive Robotics Lab with various academic and industry partners in the UK and Europe. PRIMI will synergistically combine research and development in neurophysiology, psychology, machine intelligence, cognitive mechatronics, neuromorphic engineering, and humanoid robotics to build developmental models of higher-cognition abilities – mental imagery, abstract reasoning, and theory of mind – boosted by energy- efficient event-driven computing and sensing. You will carry out research on robot neuro/cognitive architectures, using a combination of machine learning and robotics methodologies. You will be working collaboratively as part of the Cognitive Robotics Lab at the Department of Computer Science at the University of Manchester under the supervision of Professor Angelo Cangelosi.
Angelo Cangelosi
A Postdoctoral Research Associates in Neuromorphic Systems and/or Computational Neuroscience for robotics is required for a period of 3.5 years to work on the Horizon/InnovateUK project “PRIMI: Performance in Robots Interaction via Mental Imagery. This is a collaborative project of the University of Manchester’s Cognitive Robotics Lab with various academic and industry partners in the UK and Europe. PRIMI will synergistically combine research and development in neurophysiology, psychology, machine intelligence, cognitive mechatronics, neuromorphic engineering, and humanoid robotics to build developmental models of higher-cognition abilities – mental imagery, abstract reasoning, and theory of mind – boosted by energy-efficient event-driven computing and sensing. You will carry out research on the design of neuromorphic systems models for robotics. The postdoc will work collaboratively with the other postdocs and PhD students in the PRIMI project. This post requires expertise in computational neuroscience (e.g. spiking neural networks) for robotics and/or neuromorphic systems.
Numa Dancause, Paul Cisek
The postdoctoral trainees will be responsible for 1) developing and deploying automated approaches to process signals recorded in labs into analysis-ready datasets, and 2) creating a unified data storage and management framework to facilitate data sharing and collaborative, neuro-AI, analyses. They will advance cutting edge platforms for large-scale behavioral and neurophysiology experiments, participate in the advancement of open source in neuroscience, and work with unique electrophysiological datasets to develop novel or high-dimensional analytical tools.
Paul Cisek
Doctoral studies in computational neuroscience, focusing on the neural mechanisms of embodied decision-making and action planning in humans and non-human primates. The research involves computational models of the nervous system integrated with behavioral experiments, transcranial magnetic stimulation, and multi-electrode recording in multiple regions of the cerebral cortex and basal ganglia. New projects will use virtual reality to study naturalistic behavior and develop theoretical models of distributed cortical and subcortical circuits.
Massimo Sartori
The Neuro-Mechanical Modeling and Engineering Lab (NMLab) at the University of Twente invites applications for a 3-year postdoctoral position funded by the ERC Consolidator Grant ROBOREACTOR. This is an exciting opportunity to join a cutting-edge team at the intersection of neurophysiology, biomechanics, and rehabilitation robotics. As a postdoctoral researcher in this project, you will work on breakthrough technology for non-invasive biopsies of skeletal muscles, specifically targeting the lower limbs. You will employ high-density electromyography (HD-EMG) and ultrasonography, combined with advanced statistical and machine learning techniques, to characterize muscle properties at multiple scales. Key focuses include motor unit phenotype distribution, 3D muscle fascicle morphology, and muscle inflammation levels. You will validate these non-invasive measurements against invasive biopsy samples and advanced imaging techniques, working with both healthy individuals and post-stroke survivors in the context of rehabilitation robotics and regenerative robotics technologies.
Massimo Sartori
This 4-year PhD position offers you the chance to work in an innovative interdisciplinary environment, collaborating on groundbreaking research at the frontier of healthcare and robotics. As a PhD fellow, you’ll play a central role in building a predictive, multi-scale model of human skeletal muscle. This model will simulate how motor units within muscles respond to neural signals discharged by spinal neurons and adapt structurally over time when subjected to specific physical strain regimens. Leveraging machine learning and statistical modeling, you’ll integrate data from in vivo and in vitro studies to accurately predict muscle remodelling. The model will be validated against data from both healthy participants and post-stroke patients following a targeted 12-week leg training protocol. Using advanced tools such as high-density electromyography, ultrasound, and robotic dynamometry, you'll bridge biomechanics, neurophysiology and robotics, driving novel insights in muscle modelling and rehabilitation.
Lyle Muller
Postdoctoral and graduate research positions are available at Western University (London, ON) and the Fields Lab for Network Science (Toronto, ON). These positions will be supervised by Lyle Muller and involve collaborations with advanced methods of brain imaging (Mark Schnitzer, Stanford), neuroengineering (Duygu Kuzum, UCSD), theoretical neuroscience (Todd Coleman, Stanford), and neurophysiology of visual perception (John Reynolds, Salk Institute for Biological Studies). In collaboration with this multi-disciplinary team, researchers will bring together data science, computational science, and applied mathematics to understand spatiotemporal dynamics and computation in the circuits of neocortex. The project may include intermittent travel between labs to present results and facilitate collaborative work.
Dr. Fleur Zeldenrust
For the Vidi project ‘Top-down neuromodulation and bottom-up network computation,’ we seek a postdoc to study neuromodulators in efficient spike-coding networks. Using our lab’s data on dopamine, acetylcholine, and serotonin from the mouse barrel cortex, you’ll derive models connecting single cells, networks, and behavior. The aim of this project is to explain the effects of neuromodulation on task performance in biologically realistic spiking recurrent neural networks (SRNNs). You will use the efficient spike coding framework, in which a network is not trained by a learning paradigm but deduced using mathematically rigorous rules that enforce efficient coding (i.e. maximally informative spikes). You will study how the network’s structural properties such as neural heterogeneity influence decoding performance and efficiency. You will incorporate realistic network properties of the (barrel) cortex based on our lab’s measurements and incorporate the cellular effects of dopamine, acetylcholine and serotonin we have measured over the past years into the network, to investigate their effects on representations, network activity measures such as dimensionality, and decoding performance. You will build on the single cell data, network models and analysis methods available in our group, and your results will be incorporated into our group’s further research to develop and validate efficient coding models of (somatosensory) perception. Therefore, we are looking for a team player who is willing to learn from the other group members and to share their knowledge with them.
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The Center for Translational Neurophysiology of Speech and Communication (CTNSC) @ Italian Institute of Technology (IIT), jointly with the University of Ferrara, is opening a number of PhD positions starting in November 1st, 2025. Research areas include improving performance and biocompatibility of electrode arrays for brain-computer interfaces, organic neuroelectronics for multimodal recordings and stimulation of the brain in vivo, hardware and software development for innovative exploration of brain signals, machine learning applications to multimodal brain and speech signals, investigation of sensorimotor functions in animal models, cortical recordings in human patients during awake Neurosurgery, and human non-invasive neurophysiology of speech and sensorimotor communication by means of TMS, EEG, EMG and MoCap.
Investigating the Neurobiology and Neurophysiology of Psilocybin Using Drosophila melanogaster as a Model System
Evolution of convulsive therapy from electroconvulsive therapy to Magnetic Seizure Therapy; Interventional Neuropsychiatry
In April, we will host Nolan Williams and Mustafa Husain. Be prepared to embark on a journey from early brain stimulation with ECT to state-of-the art TMS protocols and magnetic seizure therapy! The talks will be held on Thursday, April 25th at noon ET / 6PM CET. Nolan Williams, MD, is an associate professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Science at Stanford University. He developed the SAINT protocol, which is the first FDA-cleared non-invasive, rapid-acting neuromodulation treatment for treatment-resistant depression. Mustafa Husain, MD, is an adjunct professor of Psychiatry and Behavioral Sciences at Duke University and a professor of Psychiatry and Neurology at UT Southwestern Medical Center, Dallas. He will tell us about “Evolution of convulsive therapy from electroconvulsive therapy to Magnetic Seizure Therapy”. As always, we will also get a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”. Please register va talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link, subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Twitter/X for further updates!
Currents of Hope: how noninvasive brain stimulation is reshaping modern psychiatric care; Adapting to diversity: Integrating variability in brain structure and function into personalized / closed-loop non-invasive brain stimulation for substance use disorders
In March we will focus on TMS and host Ghazaleh Soleimani and Colleen Hanlon. The talks will talk place on Thursday, March 28th at noon ET – please be aware that this means 5PM CET since Boston already switched to summer time! Ghazaleh Soleimani, PhD, is a postdoctoral fellow in Dr Hamed Ekhtiari’s lab at the University of Minnesota. She is also the executive director of the International Network of tES/TMS for Addiction Medicine (INTAM). She will discuss “Adapting to diversity: Integrating variability in brain structure and function into personalized / closed-loop non-invasive brain stimulation for substance use disorders”. Colleen Hanlon, PhD, currently serves as a Vice President of Medical Affairs for BrainsWay, a company specializing in medical devices for mental health, including TMS. Colleen previously worked at the Medical University of South Carolina and Wake Forest School of Medicine. She received the International Brain Stimulation Early Career Award in 2023. She will discuss “Currents of Hope: how noninvasive brain stimulation is reshaping modern psychiatric care”. As always, we will also get a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”. Please register va talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link, subscribe to our newsletter, or follow us on Twitter/X for further updates!
Novel approaches to non-invasive neuromodulation for neuropsychiatric disorders; Effects of deep brain stimulation on brain function in obsessive-compulsive disorder
On Thursday, February 29th, we will host Damiaan Denys and Andrada Neacsiu. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
Closed-loop deep brain stimulation as a neuroprosthetic of dopaminergic circuits – Current evidence and future opportunities; Spatial filtering to enhance signal processing in invasive neurophysiology
On Thursday February 15th, we will host Victoria Peterson and Julian Neumann. Victoria will tell us about “Spatial filtering to enhance signal processing in invasive neurophysiology”. Besides his scientific presentation on “Closed-loop deep brain stimulation as a neuroprosthetic of dopaminergic circuits – Current evidence and future opportunities”, Julian will give us a glimpse at the person behind the science. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. Note: The talks will exceptionally be held at 10 ET / 4PM CET. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
Sleep deprivation and the human brain: from brain physiology to cognition”
Sleep strongly affects synaptic strength, making it critical for cognition, especially learning and memory formation. Whether and how sleep deprivation modulates human brain physiology and cognition is poorly understood. Here we examined how overnight sleep deprivation vs overnight sufficient sleep affects (a) cortical excitability, measured by transcranial magnetic stimulation, (b) inducibility of long-term potentiation (LTP)- and long-term depression (LTD)-like plasticity via transcranial direct current stimulation (tDCS), and (c) learning, memory, and attention. We found that sleep deprivation increases cortical excitability due to enhanced glutamate-related cortical facilitation and decreases and/or reverses GABAergic cortical inhibition. Furthermore, tDCS-induced LTP-like plasticity (anodal) abolishes while the inhibitory LTD-like plasticity (cathodal) converts to excitatory LTP-like plasticity under sleep deprivation. This is associated with increased EEG theta oscillations due to sleep pressure. Motor learning, behavioral counterparts of plasticity, and working memory and attention, which rely on cortical excitability, are also impaired during sleep deprivation. Our study indicates that upscaled brain excitability and altered plasticity, due to sleep deprivation, are associated with impaired cognitive performance. Besides showing how brain physiology and cognition undergo changes (from neurophysiology to higher-order cognition) under sleep pressure, the findings have implications for variability and optimal application of noninvasive brain stimulation.
My evolution in invasive human neurophysiology: From basal ganglia single units to chronic electrocorticography; Therapies orchestrated by patients' own rhythms
On Thursday, April 27th, we will host Hayriye Cagnan and Philip A. Starr. Hayriye Cagnan, PhD, is an associate professor at the MRC Brain Network Dynamics Unit and University of Oxford. She will tell us about “Therapies orchestrated by patients’ own rhythms”. Philip A. Starr, MD, PhD, is a neurosurgeon and professor of Neurological Surgery at the University of California San Francisco. Besides his scientific presentation on “My evolution in invasive human neurophysiology: from basal ganglia single units to chronic electrocorticography”, he will give us a glimpse at the person behind the science. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
Crescent Loom: a flexible neurophysiology online simulation for teaching neuroethology
25 years of DBS beyond movement disorders: what challenges are we facing?; Directional DBS targeting of different nuclei in the thalamus for the treatment of pain
On Thursday, 23rd of February, we will host Veerle Visser-Vandewalle and Marie Krüger. Marie Krüger, MD, is is currently leading the stereotactic surgery unit in St. Gallen but is on her move to join the team at UCL / Queensquare London. She will discuss “Directional DBS targeting of different nuclei in the thalamus for the treatment of pain”. Veerle Visser-Vandewalle, MD, PhD, is the Head of the Department of Stereotactic and Functional Neurosurgery at University Hospital of Cologne. Beside his scientific presentation on “25 years of DBS beyond movement disorders: what challenges are we facing?”, she will also give us a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
Beta oscillations in the basal ganglia: Past, Present and Future; Oscillatory signatures of motor symptoms across movement disorders
On Wednesday, January 25th, at noon ET / 6PM CET, we will host Roxanne Lofredi and Hagai Bergman. Roxanne Lofredi, MD, is a research fellow in the Movement Disorders and Neuromodulation Unit at Charité Universitätsmedizin Berlin. Hagai Bergman, MD, PhD, is a Professor of Physiology in the Edmond and Lily Safra Center for Brain Research and Faculty of Medicine at the Hebrew University of Jerusalem, and is Simone and Bernard Guttman Chair in Brain Research. Beside his scientific presentation on “Beta oscillations in the basal ganglia: Past, Present and Future”, he will also give us a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
Social attention & emotion: invasive neurophysiology & white matter pathway studies
Bridging the gap from research to clinical decision making in epilepsy neuromodulation; How to become an integral part of the functional neurosurgery team as a radiologist
On Wednesday, November 30th, at noon ET / 6PM CET, we will host Alexandre Boutet and Erik H. Middlebrooks. Alexandre Boutet, MD, PhD, is a neuroradiology fellow at the University of Toronto, and will tell us about “How to become an integral part of the functional neurosurgery team as a radiologist”. Erik H. Middlebrooks, MD, is a Professor and Consultant of Neuroradiology and Neurosurgery and the Neuroradiology Program Director at Mayo Clinic. Beside his scientific presentation about “Bridging the Gap from Research to Clinical Decision Making in Epilepsy Neuromodulation”, he will also give us a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
A premotor amodal clock for rhythmic tapping
We recorded and analyzed the population activity of hundreds of neurons in the medial premotor areas (MPC) of rhesus monkeys performing an isochronous tapping task guided by brief flashing stimuli or auditory tones. The animals showed a strong bias towards visual metronomes, with rhythmic tapping that was more precise and accurate than for auditory metronomes. The population dynamics in state space as well as the corresponding neural sequences shared the following properties across modalities: the circular dynamics of the neural trajectories and the neural sequences formed a regenerating loop for every produced interval, producing a relative time representation; the trajectories converged in similar state space at tapping times while the moving bumps restart at this point, resetting the beat-based clock; the tempo of the synchronized tapping was encoded by a combination of amplitude modulation and temporal scaling in the neural trajectories. In addition, the modality induced a displacement in the neural trajectories in auditory and visual subspaces without greatly altering time keeping mechanism. These results suggest that the interaction between the amodal internal representation of pulse within MPC and a modality specific external input generates a neural rhythmic clock whose dynamics define the temporal execution of tapping using auditory and visual metronomes.
It’s All About Motion: Functional organization of the multisensory motion system at 7T
The human middle temporal complex (hMT+) has a crucial biological relevance for the processing and detection of direction and speed of motion in visual stimuli. In both humans and monkeys, it has been extensively investigated in terms of its retinotopic properties and selectivity for direction of moving stimuli; however, only in recent years there has been an increasing interest in how neurons in MT encode the speed of motion. In this talk, I will explore the proposed mechanism of speed encoding questioning whether hMT+ neuronal populations encode the stimulus speed directly, or whether they separate motion into its spatial and temporal components. I will characterize how neuronal populations in hMT+ encode the speed of moving visual stimuli using electrocorticography ECoG and 7T fMRI. I will illustrate that the neuronal populations measured in hMT+ are not directly tuned to stimulus speed, but instead encode speed through separate and independent spatial and temporal frequency tuning. Finally, I will suggest that this mechanism may play a role in evaluating multisensory responses for visual, tactile and auditory stimuli in hMT+.
Neurosurgery for Mental Disorders: Challenging Mindsets; Combining Neuroimaging and Neurophysiology in Parkinson’s Disease
On Wednesday, October 26th, at noon ET / 6PM CET, we will host Kara Johnson, PhD, and Ludvic Zrinzo, MD PhD, for the inaugural session of our newly conceived talk series format entitled "Stimulating Brains". Kara A. Johnson, a postdoctoral fellow in Dr. Coralie de Hemptinne’s lab at the University of Florida, will present her work on “Combining imaging and neurophysiology in Parkinson’s disease”. Ludvic Zrinzo, Professor of functional neurosurgery and head of the University College London functional neurosurgery unit, will give us a glimpse at the “Person behind the science”, and give a talk on “Neurosurgery for mental disorders: challenging mindsets”. The talks will be followed by a shared discussion. You can register via talks.stimulatingbrains.org to receive the (free) Zoom link!
Inter-individual variability in reward seeking and decision making: role of social life and consequence for vulnerability to nicotine
Inter-individual variability refers to differences in the expression of behaviors between members of a population. For instance, some individuals take greater risks, are more attracted to immediate gains or are more susceptible to drugs of abuse than others. To probe the neural bases of inter-individual variability we study reward seeking and decision-making in mice, and dissect the specific role of dopamine in the modulation of these behaviors. Using a spatial version of the multi-armed bandit task, in which mice are faced with consecutive binary choices, we could link modifications of midbrain dopamine cell dynamics with modulation of exploratory behaviors, a major component of individual characteristics in mice. By analyzing mouse behaviors in semi-naturalistic environments, we then explored the role of social relationships in the shaping of dopamine activity and associated beahviors. I will present recent data from the laboratory suggesting that changes in the activity of dopaminergic networks link social influences with variations in the expression of non-social behaviors: by acting on the dopamine system, the social context may indeed affect the capacity of individuals to make decisions, as well as their vulnerability to drugs of abuse, in particular nicotine.
From single cell to population coding during defensive behaviors in prefrontal circuits
Coping with threatening situations requires both identifying stimuli predicting danger and selecting adaptive behavioral responses in order to survive. The dorso medial prefrontal cortex (dmPFC) is a critical structure involved in the regulation of threat-related behaviour, yet it is still largely unclear how threat-predicting stimuli and defensive behaviours are associated within prefrontal networks in order to successfully drive adaptive responses. Over the past years, we used a combination we used a combination of extracellular recordings, neuronal decoding approaches, and state of the art optogenetic manipulations to identify key neuronal elements and mechanisms controlling defensive fear responses. I will present an overview of our recent work ranging from analyses of dedicated neuronal types and oscillatory and synchronization mechanisms to artificial intelligence approaches used to decode the activity or large population of neurons. Ultimately these analyses allowed the identification of high dimensional representations of defensive behavior unfolding within prefrontal networks.
Neural Codes for Natural Behaviors in Flying Bats
This talk will focus on the importance of using natural behaviors in neuroscience research – the “Natural Neuroscience” approach. I will illustrate this point by describing studies of neural codes for spatial behaviors and social behaviors, in flying bats – using wireless neurophysiology methods that we developed – and will highlight new neuronal representations that we discovered in animals navigating through 3D spaces, or in very large-scale environments, or engaged in social interactions. In particular, I will discuss: (1) A multi-scale neural code for very large environments, which we discovered in bats flying in a 200-meter long tunnel. This new type of neural code is fundamentally different from spatial codes reported in small environments – and we show theoretically that it is superior for representing very large spaces. (2) Rapid modulation of position × distance coding in the hippocampus during collision-avoidance behavior between two flying bats. This result provides a dramatic illustration of the extreme dynamism of the neural code. (3) Local-but-not-global order in 3D grid cells – a surprising experimental finding, which can be explained by a simple physics-inspired model, which successfully describes both 3D and 2D grids. These results strongly argue against many of the classical, geometrically-based models of grid cells. (4) I will also briefly describe new results on the social representation of other individuals in the hippocampus, in a highly social multi-animal setting. The lecture will propose that neuroscience experiments – in bats, rodents, monkeys or humans – should be conducted under evermore naturalistic conditions.
Being awake while sleeping, being asleep while awake: consequences on cognition and consciousness
Sleep is classically presented as an all-or-nothing phenomenon. Yet, there is increasing evidence showing that sleep and wakefulness can actually intermingle and that wake-like and sleep-like activity can be observed concomitantly in different brain regions. I will here explore the implications of this conception of sleep as a local phenomenon for cognition and consciousness. In the first part of my presentation, I will show how local modulations of sleep depth during sleep could support the processing of sensory information by sleepers. I will also how, under certain circumstances, sleepers can learn while sleeping but also how they can forget. In the second part, I will show how the reverse phenomenon, sleep intrusions during waking, can explain modulations of attention. I will focus in particular on modulations of subjective experience and how the local sleep framework can inform our understanding of everyday phenomena such as mind wandering and mind blanking. Through this presentation and the exploration of both sleep and wakefulness, I will seek to connect changes in neurophysiology with changes in behaviour and subjective experience.
Advancements in multielectrode recording techniques in neurophysiology: from wire probes to neuropixels
Join us for a comprehensive introduction to multielectrode recording technologies for in vivo neurophysiology. Whether you are new to the field or have experience with one type of technology, this webinar will provide you with information about a variety of technologies, with a main focus on Neuropixels probes. Dr Kris Schoepfer, US Product Specialist at Scientifica, will provide an overview of multielectrode technologies available to record from one or more brain areas simultaneously, including: DIY multielectrode probes; Tetrodes / Hyperdrives; Silicon probes; Neuropixels. Dr Sylvia Schröder, University of Sussex, will delve deeper into the advantages of Neuropixels, highlighting the value of channel depth and the types of new biological insights that can be explored thanks to the advancements this technology brings. Presenting exciting data from the optic tract and superior colliculus, Sylvia will also discuss how Neuropixels recordings can be combined with optogenetics, and how histology can be used to identify the location of probes.
How inclusive and diverse is non-invasive brain stimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders?
How inclusive and diverse is non-invasive brain stimulation in the treatment of psychiatric disorders?Indira Tendolkar, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behavior, Department of Psychiatry. Mental illness is associated with a huge socioeconomic burden worldwide, with annual costs only in the Netherlands of €22 billion. Over two decades of cognitive and affective neuroscience research with modern tools of neuroimaging and neurophysiology in humans have given us a wealth of information about neural circuits underlying the main symptom domains of psychiatric disorders and their remediation. Neuromodulation entails the alteration of these neural circuits through invasive (e.g., DBS) or non-invasive (e.g., TMS) techniques with the aim of improving symptoms and/or functions and enhancing neuroplasticity. In my talk, I will focus on neuromodulation studies using repetitive transcranial magnetic stimulation (rTMS) as a relatively safe, noninvasive method, which can be performed simultaneously with neurocognitive interventions. Using the examples of two chronifying mental illnesses, namely obsessive compulsive disorders and major depressive disorder (MDD), I will review the concept of "state dependent" effects of rTMS and highlight how simultaneous or sequential cognitive interventions could help optimize rTMS therapy by providing further control of ongoing neural activity in targeted neural networks. Hardly any attention has been paid to diversity aspects in the studies. By including studies from low- and middle income countries, I will discuss the potential of non-invasive brain stimulation from a transcultural perspective.
The shared predictive roots of motor control and beat-based timing
fMRI results have shown that the supplementary motor area (SMA) and the basal ganglia, most often discussed in their roles in generating action, are engaged by beat-based timing even in the absence of movement. Some have argued that the motor system is “recruited” by beat-based timing tasks due to the presence of motor-like timescales, but a deeper understanding of the roles of these motor structures is lacking. Reviewing a body of motor neurophysiology literature and drawing on the “active inference” framework, I argue that we can see the motor and timing functions of these brain areas as examples of dynamic sub-second prediction informed by sensory event timing. I hypothesize that in both cases, sub-second dynamics in SMA predict the progress of a temporal process outside the brain, and direct pathway activation in basal ganglia selects temporal and sensory predictions for the upcoming interval -- the only difference is that in motor processes, these predictions are made manifest through motor effectors. If we can unify our understanding of beat-based timing and motor control, we can draw on the substantial motor neuroscience literature to make conceptual leaps forward in the study of predictive timing and musical rhythm.
Cortical filtering of self-generated sounds in health and disease
Deciphering the Dynamics of the Unconscious Brain Under General Anesthesia
General anesthesia is a drug-induced, reversible condition comprised of five behavioral states: unconsciousness, amnesia (loss of memory), antinociception (loss of pain sensation), akinesia (immobility), and hemodynamic stability with control of the stress response. Our work shows that a primary mechanism through which anesthetics create these altered states of arousal is by initiating and maintaining highly structured oscillations. These oscillations impair communication among brain regions. We illustrate this effect by presenting findings from our human studies of general anesthesia using high-density EEG recordings and intracranial recordings. These studies have allowed us to give a detailed characterization of the neurophysiology of loss and recovery of consciousness due to propofol. We show how these dynamics change systematically with different anesthetic classes and with age. As a consequence, we have developed a principled, neuroscience-based paradigm for using the EEG to monitor the brain states of patients receiving general anesthesia. We demonstrate that the state of general anesthesia can be rapidly reversed by activating specific brain circuits. Finally, we demonstrate that the state of general anesthesia can be controlled using closed loop feedback control systems. The success of our research has depended critically on tight coupling of experiments, signal processing research and mathematical modeling.
Top-down neuromodulation of vasopressin cells in the olfactory bulb: implications for social discrimination
Interactions between the microbiome and nervous system during early development
The gut microbiota is emerging as an important modulator of brain function and behavior, as several recent discoveries reveal substantial effects of the microbiome on neurophysiology, neuroimmunity and animal behavior. Despite these findings supporting a “microbiome-gut-brain axis”, the molecular and cellular mechanisms that underlie interactions between the gut microbiota and brain remain poorly understood. To uncover these, the Hsiao laboratory is mining the human microbiota for microbial modulators of host neuroactive molecules, investigating the impact of microbiota-immune system interactions on neurodevelopment and examining the microbiome as an interface between gene-environment interactions in neurological diseases. In particular, our research on effects of the maternal microbiome on offspring development in utero are revealing novel interactions between microbiome-dependent metabolites and fetal thalamocortical axonogenesis. Overall, we aim to dissect biological pathways for communication between the gut microbiota and nervous system, toward understanding fundamental interactions between physiological systems that impact brain and behavior.
Information transfer in (barrel) cortex: from single cell to network
Using marmosets for the study of the visual cortex: unique opportunities, and some pitfalls
Marmosets (Callithrix jacchus) are small South American monkeys which are being increasingly becoming adopted as animal models in neuroscience. Knowledge about the marmoset visual system has developed rapidly over the last decade. But what are the comparative advantages, and disadvantages involved in adopting this emerging model, as opposed to the more traditionally used macaque monkey? In this talk I will present case studies where the simpler brain morphology and short developmental cycle of the marmoset have been key factors in facilitating discoveries about the anatomy and physiology of the visual system. Although no single species provides the “ideal” animal model for invasive studies of the neural bases of visual processing, I argue that the development of robust methodologies for the study of the marmoset brain provides exciting opportunities to address long-standing problems in neuroscience.
Human voluntary action: from thought to movement
The ability to decide and act autonomously is a distinctive feature of human cognition. From a motor neurophysiology viewpoint, these 'voluntary' actions can be distinguished by the lack of an obvious triggering sensory stimulus: the action is considered to be a product of thought, rather than a reflex result of a specific input. A reverse engineering approach shows that such actions are caused by neurons of the primary cortex, which in turn depend on medial frontal areas, and finally a combination of prefrontal cortical connections and subcortical drive from basal ganglia loops. One traditional marker of voluntary action is the EEG readiness potential (RP), recorded over the frontal cortex prior to voluntary actions. However, the interpretation of this signal remains controversial, and very few experimental studies have attempted to link the RP to the thought process that lead to voluntary action. In this talk, I will report new studies that show learning an internal model about the optimum delay at which to act influences the amplitude of the RP. More generally, a scientific understanding of voluntariness and autonomy will require new neurocognitive paradigms connecting thought and action.
Meningeal lymphatics and peripheral immunity in brain function and dysfunction
Immune cells and their derived molecules have major impact on brain function. Mice deficient in adaptive immunity have impaired cognitive and social function compared to that of wild-type mice. Importantly, replenishment of the T cell compartment in immune deficient mice restored proper brain function. Despite the robust influence on brain function, T cells are not found within the brain parenchyma, a fact that only adds more mystery into these enigmatic interactions between T cells and the brain. Our results suggest that meningeal space, surrounding the brain, is the site where CNS-associated immune activity takes place. We have recently discovered a presence of meningeal lymphatic vessels that drain CNS molecules and immune cells to the deep cervical lymph nodes. This communication between the CNS and the peripheral immunity is playing a key role in neurophysiology and in several CNS disorders. Interestingly, meningeal lymphatics are impaired in aging and their dysfunction may be related to age-related cognitive decline as well as to Alzheimer’s pathology. In addition to providing new insights into age-related disorders, meningeal lymphatics may also serve as a novel therapeutic target for these diseases and are worth of in-depth mechanistic exploration.
Neuroscience tools for the 99%: On the low-fi development of high-tech lab gear for hands-on neuroscience labs and exploratory research
The public has a fascination with the brain, but little attention is given to neuroscience education prior to graduate studies in brain-related fields. One reason may be the lack of low cost and engaging teaching materials. To address this, we have developed a suite of open-source tools which are appropriate for amateurs and for use in high school, undergraduate, and graduate level educational and research programs. This lecture will provide an overview of our mission to re-engineer research-grade lab equipment using first principles and will highlight basic principles of neuroscience in a "DIY" fashion: neurophysiology, functional electrical stimulation, micro-stimulation effect on animal behavior, neuropharmacology, even neuroprosthesis and optogenetics! Finally, with faculty academic positions becoming a scarce resource, I will discuss an alternative academic career path: entrepreneurship. It is possible to be an academic, do research, publish papers, present at conferences and train students all outside the traditional university setting. I will close by discussing my career path from graduate student to PI/CEO of a startup neuroscience company.
The ecology of collective behaviour
Collective behaviour operates without central control, through interactions among individuals. The collective behaviour of ant colonies is based on simple olfactory interactions. Ant species differ enormously in the algorithms that regulate collective behaviour, reflecting diversity in ecology. I will contrast two species in very different ecological situations. Harvester ant colonies in the desert, where water is scarce but conditions are stable, regulate foraging to conserve water. Response to positive feedback from olfactory interactions depends on the risk of water loss, mediated by dopamine neurophysiology. For arboreal turtle ants in the tropical forest, life is easy but unpredictable, and a highly modular system uses negative feedback to sustain activity. In all natural systems, from ant colonies to brains, collective behaviour evolves in relation with changing conditions. Similar dynamics in environmental conditions may lead to the evolution of similar processes to regulate collective behaviour.
Motion vision in Drosophila: from single neuron computation to behaviour
How nervous systems control behaviour is the main question we seek to answer in neuroscience. Although visual systems have been a popular entry point into the brain, we don’t understand—in any deep sense—how visual perception guides navigation in flies (or any organism). I will present recent progress towards this goal from our lab. We are using anatomical insights from connectomics, genetic methods for labelling and manipulating identified cell types, neurophysiology, behaviour, and computational modeling to explain how the fly brain processes visual motion to regulate behaviour.
Effects of VRK1 deficiency on the neurophysiology and behavior of zebrafish
FENS Forum 2024
Neurophysiology of perceptual closure abilities in children with autism spectrum disorder and neurotypical control children
FENS Forum 2024
Patient-specific EEG simulation of focal and generalized epilepsy with a virtual human brain based on neurophysiology
FENS Forum 2024
SHAREbrain: An interactive, integrative, and modular approach to standardise advanced functional neurophysiology data and metadata for sharing and reuse via the EBRAINS Research Infrastructure
FENS Forum 2024