News & Events (133)

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Events (126) News and Press release (99)

Oculomotor behavior and the brain: Clinical and forensic implications

by Dr. Andrea Zangrossi, Dept. of General Psychology, University of Padova

When: July 11, 2024, at 3:00 pm

Where: Sala Seminari VIMM (Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica Avanzata Onlus, Via Orus 2, Padova)

Abstract: A rule of thumb in computer science is that if you give a computer the same input, you will always get the same output. However, this does not hold true for humans: providing the same sensory input can lead to a wide range of different behavioral and brain responses. How is that possible? One explanation is that brain activity and behavior are only partially grounded in the properties of the sensory input, and that behavior is strongly influenced by the brain’s intrinsic dynamics.

EBRAINS welcomes University of Padua as new associate member

EBRAINS is pleased to announce that the University of Padua has joined the EBRAINS AISBL as an associate member.

The membership will give the University of Padua the opportunity to co-design future iterations of EBRAINS’ cutting-edge tools and services. These state-of-the-art capabilities – which include an extensive range of brain data sets, a multilevel brain atlas, modelling and simulation tools, and access to high-performance computing resources and robotics and neuromorphic platforms – aim to help European researchers to address major challenges in brain health.

Founded in 1222, the University of Padua (UNIPD) is one of Europe’s oldest and most prestigious seats of learning and has a long tradition and consolidated reputation for scientific excellence.

The social side of emotional regulation: Psychophysiological implications

by Dr. Antonio Maffei, Dept. of Developmental Psychology and Socialisation, University of Padova

When: June 27, 2024, at 3:00 pm

Where: Aula 2C-Psico2 (Building PSICO2, Via Venezia 12, Padova)

Abstract: The dominant approach to the study of emotions and affective processes does not typically take into account that affective reactions are constantly shaped by the presence of others. Additionally, they also shape others’ behavior and emotions. Recently, there has been a growing interest toward devising novel approaches and paradigms to overcome this limitation. A promising area of affective research, where encompassing the social dimension can make an important role, is stress reactivity.

Seminar: Implantable and wearable systems to restore and augment neural functions

prof. Silvestro Micera (The BioRobotics Institute, Interdisciplinary Health Center, and Department of Excellence in Robotics and AI, Scuola Superiore Sant’Anna Bertarelli Foundation Chair in Translational Neuroengineering Neuro-X Institute, School of Engineering Ecole Polytechnique Federale de Lausanne – EPFL)

When: June 12, 2024, at 3:30 pm

Where: Aula Magna G. F. Azzone del Complesso Vallisneri, Padova

Abstract: This seminar would like to remember Matteo Caleo, former PNC member.

Find more details on the biomed site:

https://www.biomed.unipd.it/seminario-implantable-and-wearable-systems-restore-and-augment-neural-functions

Preparing for your scientific career: The relevance of publishing

by Dr. Elena Becker-Barroso, Editor-in-Chief at The Lancet Neurology

When: June 6, 2024, at 2:30 pm

Where: Sala Seminari VIMM (Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica Avanzata Onlus, Via Orus 2, Padova)

Who: The seminar is addressed to PhD students and post-doc fellows

Abstract: The dissemination of findings and hypotheses is an essential part of the work of a scientist. However, most students aiming at a scientific career are not familiarised with academic journals and their procedures. I will describe the procedures that editors at The Lancet group use to select and prioritise articles for publication. The Lancet was founded in London (UK) in 1823, whereas The Lancet Neurology was launched almost two centuries later, in 2002.

Humans embody tools to use them like hands. How’s that?

by Prof. Alessandro Farnè, Lyon Neuroscience Research Center, France

When: May 23, 2024, at 3:00 pm

Where: Aula 2C-Psico2 (Building PSICO2, Via Venezia 12, Padova)

Abstract: Scientists have long questioned the origin of the exquisite human mastery of tools. How do we manage controlling a tool in the skillful way humans typically do, that is, as a body-part? Grasping objects with tools is a major challenge for the motor system, in that the control of the hand needs to be transferred to the prehensile part of the tool. In the first part of my talk I will present findings suggesting that motor control is not merely distalized from the fingers to a grabber prongs: rather, when we use tools to grasp objects, the body of the tool is incorporated into our arm representation.

Brain rhythms for bottom-up and top-down signaling

by Prof. Pascal Fries, Max Planck Institute for Biological Cybernetics, Tübingen, Germany

When: May 16, 2024, at 3:00 pm

Where: Sala Seminari VIMM (Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica Avanzata Onlus, Via Orus 2, Padova)

Abstract: Brain networks typically engage in rhythmic synchronization, and this might serve functions, e.g. the processing of stimuli. I will show that repeated visual stimuli induce decreasing firing rates yet enhanced gamma-band synchronization, likely to maintain postsynaptic impact. This impact is indeed optimal for gamma-rhythmic inputs, as I will show by controlling inputs with optogenetics. Optogenetics can also be used to control top-down inputs. I will show that this Opto-Top-Down induces strong, up to several fold, changes in gamma-band synchronization together with much smaller changes in firing rate and no correlation between the two effects.

Statistical approaches for understanding the brain through electrophysiological data: an overview

Speaker: Dr. Sara Sommariva (University of Genova)

When: 2 May 2024, h. 5:00 pm

Where: 1A150, Torre Archimede

Abstract:

Most brain functions are regulated by intercorrelated electrical currents flowing in few specific brain
areas. Magneto- and electro-encephalography (M/EEG) are two modern neuroimaging techniques
capable of non-invasively recording the electromagnetic field produced outside the scalp by these
neural currents with an outstanding temporal resolution. Interpreting the recorded M/EEG data is not
straightforward and advanced mathematical and statistical techniques are required to estimate the
dynamical brain activity that has generated the measured data. A typical workflow of analysis
consists of two steps: (i) first the active brain regions and their time-courses are estimated by
solving and ill-posed inverse problem (ii) then proper statistical metrics are compute to estimate
functional connectivity, i.e.

Understanding the neural code for symbols and languages: A challenge for human cognitive neuroscience

by Prof. Stanislas Dehaene, Director of INSERM Unit 562, “Cognitive Neuroimaging”, France, and Professor
at the Collège de France

When: May 2, 2024, at 3:00 pm

Where: Sala Seminari VIMM (Fondazione per la Ricerca Biomedica Avanzata Onlus, Via Orus 2, Padova)

Abstract: Cognition is distinctly different in humans compared to other animals. A unique feature of our species is natural language, but in this talk, I will argue that a competence for symbols and languages drives many other cognitive domains, such as our unique abilities for geometry, mathematics, or music. Even the mere perception of a square or a zig-zag is driven by minimal description length (MDL) and thus
involves a search for the shortest “mental program” that captures the observed data in an internal “language of geometry”.