|Talks|

Hormonal modulation and low-dimensional dynamics in spiking neural networks

Visiting speaker
In-person
Past Talk
Michele Nardin
HHMI Janelia Research Campus
Sep 20, 2024
11:00 am
Sep 20, 2024
11:00 am
In-person
4 Thomas More St
London E1W 1YW, UK
The Roux Institute
Room
100 Fore Street
Portland, ME 04101
Network Science Institute
2nd floor
Network Science Institute
11th floor
177 Huntington Ave
Boston, MA 02115
Network Science Institute
2nd floor
Room
58 St Katharine's Way
London E1W 1LP, UK

Talk recording

A central question in neuroscience is how the brain selects relevant actions in response to physiological needs. Across species, the brain monitors physiological variables through peripheral nerve sensors and specialized brain nuclei that detect need-related hormone levels in the bloodstream. While the influence of certain hormones on behavior is well established, how hormones specifically bias neuronal dynamics remains unclear.In this talk, we will first present a simple theoretical framework that allows us to derive spiking neural networks implementing specific low-dimensional dynamics. We will then explore the consequences of implementing dynamics with both fast and slow components, which give rise to neural interactions over multiple timescales. These can be interpreted as fast synaptic interactions and slow hormonal modulatory signals, respectively. Finally, we will discuss how these models can be understood within a broader control-theoretical framework for regulating physiological homeostasis and how they connect to our recent experimental efforts to simultaneously measure hormonal dynamics and neural activity in live animals.We will conclude with an overview of future plans and an outlook on how this research will advance our understanding of physiology-driven decision-making and the embodiment of artificial agents.

About the speaker
Michele studied mathematics in Italy before moving to Austria for his PhD in computational neuroscience at the Institute of Science and Technology Austria under the supervision of Jozsef Csicsvari and Gasper Tkacik. He is now a theory fellow researcher at the HHMI Janelia Research Campus.
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Sep 20, 2024