Neurobiological constraints on learning: bug or feature?
Understanding how brains learn requires bridging evidence across scales—from behaviour and neural circuits to cells, synapses, and molecules. In our work, we use computational modelling and data analysis to explore how the physical properties of neurons and neural circuits constrain learning. These include limits imposed by brain wiring, energy availability, molecular noise, and the 3D structure of dendritic spines. In this talk I will describe one such project testing if wiring motifs from fly brain connectomes can improve performance of reservoir computers, a type of recurrent neural network. The hope is that these insights into brain learning will lead to improved learning algorithms for artificial systems.
Common developmental mechanisms underlie multiple brain disorders linked to corpus callosum dysgenesis. (Simultaneous translation to Spanish)
The corpus callosum is the largest fibre tract in the brain of placental mammals and connects the two cerebral hemispheres. Corpus callosum dysgenesis is a developmental brain disorder that is commonly genetic and occurs in approximately 1:4000 live births. It is easily diagnosed by MRI or prenatal ultrasound and is found in isolation or together with other brain anomalies, or with other organ system defects in a large number of different congenital syndromes. Callosal dysgenesis is a structural brain wiring disorder that can impact brain function and cognition in heterogeneous ways. We aim to understand how early developmental mechanisms lead to circuit alterations that ultimately impact behaviour and cognition. Translated to Spanish by MD and Medical interpreter Trinidad Ott. El cuerpo calloso es el tracto de fibras más grande del cerebro de los mamíferos placentarios y conecta los dos hemisferios cerebrales. La disgenesia del cuerpo calloso es un trastorno del desarrollo del cerebro que comunmente es genético y ocurre en aproximadamente 1: 4000 nacidos vivos. Se diagnostica fácilmente mediante resonancia magnética o ecografía prenatal y se encuentra aislado o junto con otras anomalías cerebrales, o con otros defectos del sistema de órganos en un gran número de síndromes congénitos diferentes. La disgenesia callosa es un trastorno estructural del cableado cerebral que puede afectar la función cerebral y la cognición de formas heterogéneas. Nuestro objetivo es comprender cómo los primeros mecanismos del desarrollo conducen a alteraciones en los circuitos que, en última instancia, afectan el comportamiento y la cognición. Traducción al español por la Doctora e Intérprete Médica Trinidad Ott.