Bio: Jorge Jaramillo. Grossman Center for Quantitative Biology and Human Behavior, Department of Neurobiology. University of Chicago, USA

Summary: Computational modeling of cognitive processes has largely focused on single cortical areas, but many recent studies have shown that multiple cortical and subcortical brain circuits participate in these functions. In the first part of my talk, I propose a circuit model of large-scale neural interactions during movement planning, a form of short-term memory. In collaboration with scientists at the Allen Institute for Neural Dynamics, we show that subcortical inputs to the thalamus selectively gate cortical ‘dynamical modes’ relevant for movement planning and execution. In the second part of my talk, I present a biophysical model of spindle oscillations that are generated in the thalamic reticular nucleus-thalamus network. In collaboration with Carmen Varela at Florida State University, we show that cortico-thalamic feedback is important to initiate spindling during sleep, which may be related to memory consolidation. I conclude with a general framework for studying subcortical-cortical interactions in cognition, where the higher order thalamus plays an important role in distributed and large-scale dynamical interactions in the brain. 

Lugar:  Seminario de Anatomía

Fecha y hora: Lunes 16 de junio, 12.00 horas