Events (126)

Adaptive neural networks in resting human brain explains coexistence of avalanches and oscillations

by dr. Fabrizio Lombardi, Institute of Science and Technology Austria (ISTA) – Vienna

When: December 1st, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Where: Sala Seminari – VIMM. 50 seats available. Mask is mandatory. Registration Link

Abstract: Neurons in the brain are wired into adaptive networks that exhibit a range of collective dynamics. Oscillations, for example, are paradigmatic synchronous patterns of neural activity with a defined temporal scale. Neuronal avalanches, in contrast, are scale-free cascades of neural activity, often considered as evidence of brain tuning to criticality. While models have been developed to account for oscillations or avalanches separately, they typically do not explain both phenomena, are too complex to analyze analytically, or intractable to infer from data rigorously.

Book presentation: “Alfonso Corti. The discovery of the hearing organ”

Proff. Alessandro Martini, Paolo Mazzarello, Eugenio Mira, and Albert Mudry – School of Medicine – Padova

When: November 22nd, 5:00 pm, 2022

Where: Aula Morgagni del Policlinico, Via Giustiniani 2, Padova

Abstract: In this book the biography is followed by a synopsis of scientists who followed in Alfonso Corti’s footsteps through the present, offered together with beautiful anatomic reproductions of Corti’s organ. Important followers were Nobel Prize winner Santiago Ramón y Cajal and Swedish anatomist Gustaf Retzius, nominated for the Nobel Prize nine times. Several others have provided new insights into the physiology, biochemistry, and especially, genetics involved in the coordinated development of this organ.

Predictive processing in spoken language comprehension: insights from electrophysiology in typical and atypical populations

by dr. Simone Gastaldon, Dept. of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation and Padova Neuroscience Center – Padova

When: November 3rd, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Where: Sala Seminari – VIMM. Recording available on Mediaspace.

Abstract: Understanding language is a complex task that neurologically intact people seem to perform very easily. To achieve this, our brain does not only passively process incoming stimuli, but also proactively predicts upcoming information to facilitate processing. In this talk I will present past and ongoing studies that investigate some aspects of such predictive processes, by using electroencephalography with both typically developed adults, and people with atypical development.

Palliative Care in Parkinson’s Disease

Closing Meeting of PD_Pal PROJECT, Grant Agreement No 825785

When: Nov 25 and 26, 2022

Where: Palazzo della Salute, Via San Francesco 90, Padova

Abstract: There is a growing awareness of the potential benefit of palliative care interventions in Parkinson’s disease, given its incurable nature and current treatment strategies, which are primarily symptomatic. The high burden of non-motor symptoms that are difficult to manage, the high distress of caregivers, and the high utilization of medical services especially in the last years of life have become evident. Similar to cancer patients, albeit for a longer duration, PD patients have significant (and mounting) unmet physical, psychosocial and spiritual needs and encounter great problems in care coordination and continuity of care.

How can a single neuron influence behavior? Hints from integrate-and-fire network models

by dr. Davide Bernardi, Center for Translational Neurophysiology of Speech and Communication @ Istituto Italiano di Tecnologia (Ferrara, Italy)

When: October 6th, 2022 – 3:15 pm

Where: Sala Seminari, VIMM. Recording available on Mediaspace

Abstract: There is increasing experimental evidence that the activity of single cortical neurons can make a difference to the brain. One particularly striking example is that rats can be trained to respond to the stimulation of a single cell in the barrel cortex. It is not clear how this finding can be reconciled with the usual textbook view that only large neuronal populations can reliably encode information, as is often argued on the basis of the large noise and chaotic dynamics of cortical networks.

A novel multi-class logistic regression algorithm to reliably infer network connectivity from cell membrane potentials

by dr. Thierry Nieus, Università degli Studi di Milano

When: October 6th, 2022 – 2:30 pm

Where: Sala Seminari, VIMM. Recording available on Mediaspace

Abstract: In neuroscience, the structural connectivity matrix of synaptic weights between neurons is one of the critical factors determining the overall function of a network of neurons. The mechanisms of signal transduction have been intensively studied at different time and spatial scales and at both the cellular and molecular level. While a better understanding and knowledge of some basic processes of information handling by neurons has been achieved, little is known about the organization and function of complex neuronal networks.

Science4All 2022

When: Sept 30, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m. and Oct 1, 2022 from 5:00 p.m. to 12:00 a.m.

Where: Palazzo del Bo, Via VIII Febbraio 2, Padova PD

Abstract: Promossa dall’Università di Padova, la manifestazione Science4All è rivolta a tutta la cittadinanza e mira a comunicare la scienza in modo semplice e divertente con eventi a libero accesso. Nei pomeriggi e nelle sere del 30 settembre e dell’1 ottobre le ricercatrici e i ricercatori dell’Ateneo incontrano tutti i curiosi nelle sedi di Palazzo del Bo, del Complesso Beato Pellegrino e del meraviglioso Orto botanico, patrimonio mondiale UNESCO.

Il Padova Neuroscience Center e la Scuola di Dottorato in Neuroscience saranno presenti a Palazzo del Bo con lo stand “La meraviglia del cervello” per mostrare alcune metodologie di ricerca e le scoperte che hanno migliorato la comprensione del cervello.

XXX congresso della Associazione Italiana di Psicologia (AIP)

When: Sep 26, 2022 starting at 9:00 a.m.

Where: Scuola di Psicologia – Via Venezia, 12, 35131 Padova PD

Abstract: Il XXX congresso della Associazione Italiana di Psicologia si terrà presso la Scuola di Psicologia dell’Università di Padova: le giornate congressuali inizieranno martedì 27 settembre e termineranno venerdì 30 settembre 2022. Lunedì 26 settembre il congresso sarà già attivo: la giornata sarà dedicata alla registrazione e a workshop pre-congressuali.

Il congresso alternerà momenti di scambio tra le Sezioni e momenti di Sezione. Le mattinate (martedì, mercoledì, giovedì e venerdì) saranno per la maggioranza dedicate a momenti scientifici plenari, caratterizzati da simposi di carattere interdisciplinare e relazioni di ricercatrici e ricercatori di chiara fama.

Challenges and opportunities of advancing fMRI resolution, interpretability, and utility

by prof. Peter Bandettini, National Institute of Health, USA

When: September 29th, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Where: Zoom meeting. Recording available on Mediaspace

Abstract: Functional MRI has been advanced by improvements in acquisition, processing, and our understanding of the neurovascular response, leading to new insights, applications, and avenues of research. In this lecture, the challenges and opportunities in working with fMRI at its limits of resolution,
sensitivity, and interpretability are described. Several examples of ultra-high resolution mapping of cortical layer activity and connectivity are shown, opening up the capability of fMRI to map directional connectivity and functional hierarchy. Also presented are some of my lab’s recent work on tracking ongoing cognition, assessing vigilance, and reducing physiologic noise – all through the integration of novel pulse sequences, paradigms, and processing methods.