Ανακοινώσεις

 

Ακολουθούν ο τίτλος και η περίληψη της ομιλίας, καθώς και ένα σύντομο βιογραφικό της ομιλήτριας.

 
Τίτλος: An Orchestra in the Brain: Identifying Communication Modules from the Functional Architecture of Primary Visual Cortex

Περίληψη: How does the brain perform the complicated computations that allow us to learn about and interact with the environment? The rapid advances in optical imaging, machine learning, and the availability of computational resources, provide a unique opportunity to decipher this fundamental question. Although much has been learned about the computational properties of single neurons, we remain far from understanding how networks of cortical cells coordinate and interact with each other in order to process information. Several pioneering works have proposed theories regarding how the configuration of neuronal ensembles encode information in the cortex. Ensembles of neurons that fire in synchrony are likely to be more efficient at relaying shared information to downstream targets as well as more likely to belong to networks of neurons subserving similar functions. Spontaneous patterns of activity reflect the intrinsic dynamics of the brain in the absence of external stimulation or task performance. The following questions shape this research: What is the architecture of the functional connectivity of the primary visual cortex and how is information relayed across layers? How are these information streams modulated by different behavioral states and internal neuronal dynamics? The talk aims to shed light on the structure of spontaneous activity and what it tells us about computational processing in the brain.
 
====================================
 
Σύντομο βιογραφικό: Maria Papadopouli (Ph.D. Columbia University, 2002) is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Crete, a Research Associate at the Institute of Computer Science, FORTH, a Lead Researcher at the Archimedes Research Unit, Athena Research Center, and a Fulbright Scholar. She has been a visiting Professor at  the Brigham and Women's Hospital, Harvard Medical School (2022-2025), Fulbright Scholar at the Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory (CSAIL), MIT (2017), and at the School of Electrical Engineering, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Stockholm. >From July 2002 until June 2006, she was a tenure-track Assistant Professor at the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), on leave from July 2004 until June 2006. Her research has been supported by several awards (e.g., IBM Faculty Awards, Google Faculty Award, Comcast Innovation Fund) and competitive national, EU, and international grants. Her research interests extend from the Internet of Things to network neuroscience and AI, focusing on analyzing complex networks.

====================================