News & Events (206)

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Events (135) News and Press release (106)

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.

A novel electrocortical approach for the identification of dysfunctional emotional processing in dysphoria

Carola dell’Acqua
Elisa Dal Bò

Reduced approach motivation, indexed by reduced emotional responding to pleasant stimuli, and increased cognitive elaboration of unpleasant stimuli, are increasingly considered putative risk factors for depression. A novel approach to simultaneously examine these two processes is to examine time-frequency delta and theta power while participants are exposed to emotional pictures. Indeed, delta power appears to have a functional role in monitoring the motivational relevance of affective cues and in the identification of pleasant/rewarding stimuli and is generated by subcortical regions involved in the motivational system. Whereas theta power reflects the processing of salient events and can be employed to assess cognitive processing during the viewing of affective content.

Physics and Neuroscience: complex models of injured brains predict neurological deficits

The study ‘Recovery of neural dynamics criticality in personalized whole brain models of stroke‘ published in Nature Communications, fruit of an international collaboration among physicists, neurologists, psychologists, and PNC members Samir Suweis, Marco Zorzi and Maurizio Corbetta, proposes the theory of brain criticality to explain brain-behavior relationships in neurological patients.

Samir Suweis
Marco Zorzi
Maurizio Corbetta

Criticality is a physical state at the transition between order and disorder, and previous studies had shown that healthy brains work at criticality.

This study shows that patients affected by stroke present at three months decreased levels of neural activity, decreased entropy, and decreased strength of functional connections.

Proff. Annachiara Cagnin, Diego Cecchin and colleagues published a paper about brain amyloid PET analysis

Annachiara Cagnin
Diego Cecchin

To date, there is no consensus on how to semi-quantitatively assess brain amyloid PET.

Researchers used data from 85 patients who underwent dual time-point PET/MRI acquisitions. The correlations with a gold standard (SI) were computed and the methods compared with the visual assessment.

Each quantifier exhibited excellent agreement with visual assessment and strong correlation with SI (average AUC = 0.99, ρ = 0.91). Among the other methods, TDr came closest to the reference with less implementation complexity.

The ability of techniques integrating blood perfusion to depict age-related variations in amyloid load in amyloid-negative subjects demonstrates the goodness of the estimate.

New paper by Prof. Bisazza and colleagues about the cognitive abilities of newly hatched zebrafish

Angelo Bisazza

What are the cognitive abilities of a newly hatched zebrafish? A research from the University of Padova found that hatchings are able to associate a visual stimulus with presence of food. Learning occurs much faster in larvae than in adult zebrafish, requiring less than 48h to establish an association.

This feature was exploited to assess the capacity of larval zebrafish to recognize objects. Larvae can easily discriminate two objects by their color or shape. They can also perceive more complex visual properties, being able to discriminate two identical objects with a different spatial orientation or an object from its mirror image.

‘Little brain’, big contributions – Reflection on cerebellar circuitry in action, perception, and cognition

by prof. Sonja Kotz – University of Maastricht

When: July 7th, 2022 – 3:00 pm

Where: Sala Seminari, VIMM. Recording available on Mediaspace

Abstract: It is well established that cortico-cerebellar-cortical circuitry monitors motor behavior, but recent evidence established that this circuitry similarly engages in the temporal encoding of basic and more complex (multi)sensory information. Consequently, cerebellar computations may generally apply to the temporal encoding of motor and basic and complex (multi)sensory information as (i) such information stimulates and monitors cortical information processing, and (ii) cerebellar-thalamic output might be a possible source of endogenous activity, predicting the outcome of cortical information processing and (iii) possibly providing a temporal frame for the binding of information.