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DESCRIPTION:Topological insights into the neural basis of flexible behavior
 \n\nMarlene Cohen\, University of Pittsburgh\n	Tuesday September 14\, 12-1p
 m\n	Zoom Link: https://mcgill.zoom.us/j/85428056343\n\nAbstract: It is wide
 ly accepted that there is an inextricable link between the function of a n
 eural circuit\, the biological mechanisms that can modulate the computatio
 ns it performs\, and the flexible behavior it produces. However\, the natu
 re of that link has proven elusive because we lack a framework that is com
 prehensive yet general enough to simultaneously explain neural computation
 s\, biological mechanisms\, and behavior. I will talk about our new work s
 howing that topological data analysis (TDA)\, an emerging field of mathema
 tics and data science that is typically used very differently to character
 ize large data sets in mostly non-neuroscientific fields\, provides that n
 ecessary bridge between different levels of experimental and theoretical n
 euroscientific study. We demonstrate that cognitive processes like attenti
 on change the topological description of the shared activity of groups of 
 neurons in visual cortex (specifically\, the extent to which trial-to-tria
 l fluctuations in responses to the same stimulus are correlated\, which is
  known to depend on cognition). These topological changes provide uniquely
  strong constraints on a mechanistic model\, explain the concomitant behav
 ioral changes\, and\, via a link with network control theory\, reveal that
  visual attention entails a tradeoff between improving the ability of the 
 network to respond to subtle changes in the visual stimulus and increasing
  the chance that the subject will stray off task (increasing the lapse rat
 e). In addition to these discoveries about the biological and computationa
 l mechanisms by which cognition affects behavior\, our study provides a bl
 ueprint for novel uses of TDA to understand the huge variety of normal beh
 avioral processes and disorders of the nervous system that involve the sha
 red activity of large groups of neurons.\n
DTSTART:20210914T160000Z
DTEND:20210914T170000Z
LOCATION:CA\, QC
SUMMARY:QLS Seminar Series - Marlene Cohen
URL:/qls/channels/event/qls-seminar-series-marlene-coh
 en-332343
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