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SUMMARY:Networking—the key to success… especially in the brain. - Mr A
 lexander Dunn (University of Cambridge)
DTSTART:20211117T170000Z
DTEND:20211117T180000Z
UID:TALK165913@talks.cam.ac.uk
CONTACT:Katharina Zuhlsdorff
DESCRIPTION:In our everyday lives\, we form connections and build up socia
 l networks that allow us to function successfully as individuals and as a 
 society. Our social networks tend to include well-connected individuals wh
 o link us to other groups of people that we might otherwise have limited a
 ccess to. In addition\, we are more likely to befriend individuals who a) 
 live nearby and b) have mutual friends. Interestingly\, neurons tend to do
  the same…until development is perturbed. Just like social networks\, ne
 uronal networks require highly connected hubs to elicit efficient communic
 ation at minimal cost (you can’t befriend everybody you meet\, nor can e
 very neuron wire with every other!). This talk will cover some of Alex’s
  work showing that microscopic (cellular scale) brain networks inferred fr
 om spontaneous activity show similar complex topology to that previously d
 escribed in macroscopic human brain scans. The talk will also discuss what
  happens when neurodevelopment is disrupted in the case of a monogenic dis
 order called Rett Syndrome. This will include simulations of neuronal acti
 vity and the effects of manipulation of model parameters as well as what h
 appens when we manipulate real developing networks using optogenetics. If 
 functional development can be restored in atypical networks\, this may hav
 e implications for treatment of neurodevelopmental disorders like Rett Syn
 drome.
LOCATION:Zoom
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