Inducing transitions between healthy and pathological brain states: insights from semi-empirical computational modeling
12.09.2019 von 16:00 bis 17:00
Human consciousness is correlated with the complexity of brain dynamics. The response of brain activity to external electromagnetic perturbations is a robust marker of the level of consciousness, both in physiological and pathological states. However, it is difficult to assess this response, and different approximations are adopted in practice. In my talk I will show how the development of semi-empirical models (i.e. fusion of dynamical systems with information obtained from structural and functional neuroimaging) allows to build "in silico brains" for the rehearsal of the response against different external perturbations. This freedom for virtual experimentation allows to investigate potential solutions to a much more difficult problem than diagnosis: the induction of transitions towards the state of ordinary wakefulness, one of the greatest challenges of contemporary neurology. While most of the examples provided in my talk will concern states of reduced awareness, the developed methodology can also be applied to other neurological and psychiatric conditions.