All Neural Dynamics Forum talks during Autumn 2021 will take place online through Zoom unless specified otherwise, details as below.
Meeting ID: 932 7630 6396
Password: 815933
https://zoom.us/s/93276306396
1PM September 24th – Dr Mike Ambler (Clinical Lecturer, University of Bristol)
GEOG BLDG G.11N SR1
Torpor TRAP: from mice to Mars
Torpor is a naturally occurring hypothermic, hypometabolic state employed by a wide range of species in response to a paucity of food availability. It can be brief as seen in daily heterotherms, or prolonged as seen in seasonal hibernators. Understanding the neural control of torpor might allow synthetic torpor states to be induced in species for which it is not an extant behaviour, which might have useful clinical or space travel applications. I will discuss the approach to finding the neural switch for a behaviour about which little is known. I will present data from the mouse (a daily heterotherm) in which the use of targeted recombination in active populations (TRAP) allows dissection of the role of specific hypothalamic nuclei in the induction of torpor. From this work, the preoptic area of the hypothalamus (POA) emerges as a central region capable of triggering torpor in the mouse. Finally, I will show that in the rat, which does not naturally enter torpor, chemogenetic activation of the POA induces a state with remarkable similarities to torpor.
2PM September 17th – Xiaosi Gu (Icahn School of Medicine at Mount Sinai)
The Social Brain: From Models To Mental Health
Given the complex and dynamic nature of our social relationships, the human brain needs to quickly learn and adapt to new social situations. The breakdown of any of these computations could lead to social deficits, as observed in many psychiatric disorders. In this talk, I will present our recent neurocomputational and intracranial work that attempts to model both 1) how humans dynamically adapt beliefs about other people and 2) how individuals can exert influence over social others through model-based forward thinking. Lastly, I will present our findings of how impaired social computations might manifest in different disorders such as addiction, delusion, and autism. Taken together, these findings reveal the dynamic and proactive nature of human interactions as well as the clinical significance of these high-order social processes.