Whole-brain and whole-body computations for behavior and physiology

As part of the ongoing Student/Postdoc-Run Speaker Series (SPRSS), and on behalf of the Circuits Club Group, Prof. Misha Ahrens from the Janelia Research Campus, Virginia, USA will give a talk titled "Whole-brain and whole-body computations for behavior and physiology."

Abstract:

Computation in the brain is implemented by a variety of cell types and a multitude of molecular pathways. Although neuroscience has focused mainly on networks of neurons, networks of other cell types also perform computations crucial for brain function. I will discuss the role of astrocytes in long-timescale integration of sensory evidence and behavioral state switching, and the neuromodulatory and purinergic molecular pathways with which they interact with neuronal networks. Another noncanonical substrate of computation consists of networks of cells outside the brain. In this context, I will discuss recent work that enables probing body-wide information processing for behavior and physiology.