Computational Neuroscience Winter School

Abstract: The first report of Human EEG was published in 1929 that was about 90 years ago, what have happend in this domain since then? and what’s the future for EEG in one hundred? In this lecture, we will review the temporal and spatial aspects of EEG with typical application examples to show the advantages and disadvantages, expecially the key techniques used in current psychological and clinic studies. Finally, the potential areas for the future are discussed，including fusing with other techniques and further mining the implicit information in EEG recordings.

Abstract: I will discuss our recent progress towards an algorithmic understanding of flexible control of motor behaviors. We are paying special attention to the one millimeter long nematode C. elegans, a unique systems neuroscience model to test computational theories via a combination of genetic and imaging methods.

Abstract: In this lecture, I will first introduce the concept of “cognitive-type” cortical microcircuits capable of working memory and decision-making, which are mathematically described as a strongly nonlinear neurodynamical system characterized by a duality of slow transients and attractor dynamics. Then, I will discuss recent work on modeling multi-regional large-scale cortex, using recently published databases of directed and weighted connectivity. We found that, by taking into account quantitative heterogeneity across cortical areas, such a large network naturally gives rise to a hierarchy of timescales: early sensory areas respond rapidly to an external input and the response decays away immediately after stimulus offset (appropriate for sensory processing), whereas association areas higher in the brain hierarchy are capable of integrating inputs over a long time and exhibit persistent activity (suitable for decision-making and working memory). This model has been expanded to incorporate a laminar structure of the cortex and to investigate frequency-dependent feedforward versus feedback neural signaling. Moreover, in such a complex brain system, routing of information between areas must be flexibly gated according to behavioral demands. For instance, when you try to read a book in a noisy café, it is desirable for your brain to “gate in” visual information while “gating out” auditory inputs. We propose such a gating mechanism with a disinhibitory circuit motif implemented by several subtypes of inhibitory neurons. The model provides a computational platform for investigating dynamics and functions of a large-scale brain.

Abstract: We will cover 3 main topics:

Sound localization Pitch representation and context dependence in discrimination Auditory scene analysis – the cocktail party problem

Overriding goals are the development and application of neuromechanistic models to gain insight into the dynamics that underlie these case studies of auditory function. The time scales will range from sub-milliseconds (sound localization) to seconds (perceptual alternations for bistable ambiguous scenes). Among the prominent dynamical features are: onset responses are ubiquitous – they depend on excitable neuronal dynamics that can preclude oscillatory responses for steady inputs but provide high sensitivity to temporal change; slow adaptation underlies context dependence; bistability together with noise enables perceptual sampling and competition. We will cover experimental studies with animals from in vitro and in vivo cellular electrophysiology aimed at biophysical properties to systems level neurophysiology for circuit properties and with humans in psychoacoustic experiments for behavior.

Slides:

• [SJTU_Freq Change Detection.pdf](https://ins.sjtu.edu.cn/files/paper/20181115090327_4_15_Freq change detection.pdf)
• [SJTU_Bistable Perception.pdf](https://ins.sjtu.edu.cn/files/paper/20181115090332_4_16_Bistable perception_v3.pdf)

Abstract: Diverse types of neurons are interconnected via local or long-range synapses to form specific neural circuits for executing particular brain functions and behaviors. Among the neuron constituents in many circuits, different subtypes of interneuron that releases inhibitory transmitter gamma-amino butyric acid (GABA) greatly enhance the complexity of circuit architecture and dynamic regulation. In the talk, I will present recent findings of our laboratory on the connectivity, function and plasticity of the hippocampal-cortical circuit, more emphasis on that of GABAergic inhibitory circuits. First, by extensive electrophysiological recording in the developing visual cortex ex vivo and in vivo, we have elucidated the circuit basis for the long-standing inhibition gating mechanism underlying a heightened experience-dependent cortical plasticity during a postnatal critical-period over development, as well as for the dynamic regulation of rhythmic cortical activity (oscillations) by distinct inhibitory cell circuits. Second, using viral-tool or ChR2-assisted circuitry mapping, we have delineated the fine-scale connectivity of an entorhinal cortex (EC)→hippocampal CA1 direct-circuit that is required for olfactory associative learning. On both technical and intellectual aspects, these findings also establish a solid basis for our further studies that unveil the principal maps of local and long-range connections of cortico-hippocampal circuits and a potentially novel form of plasticity in these circuit architectures induced by learning or early experience.