Conference on Brain Network Dynamics, UC Berkeley, January 2007

Stanford University, Stanford CA

Investigators

Abstract

The study of human brain function is arguably one of our society's most important endeavors in this new century. Although there has been an explosive amount of research in basic neurobiology, progress in understanding the function of large brain systems has been limited. Understanding the integrated functioning of the brain remains a significant scientific problem. Even "simple perception" involves many distributed brain regions, and discovering the network interactions among these regions is important for understanding a range of issues in neuroscience, psychology, neurology, and psychiatry. Essential for understanding human brain function is a detailed knowledge of the spatio-temporal dynamics of neuronal populations and their interactions during cognitive function. The National Science Foundation will sponsor a conference to bring together a group of leading researchers to examine the dynamics of distributed brain function from a multidisciplinary approach, and to educate the next generation of researchers on important topics at the frontier of studies in this discipline. It will 1) present an overview of the present state of research on brain dynamics from various perspectives; 2) target issues in the brain sciences for which progress may be facilitated by the closer interaction of multiple disciplines; 3) promote the application of tools from mathematical statistics, network science, and neural network modeling; 4) outline avenues of approach to the application of insights from dynamical brain studies to clinical questions for the improved development of biomarkers for disease diagnosis. The conference will be held in California's San Francisco Bay area.