Distinguished Lecture Series: Scott Grafton (UC Santa Barbara)
Insights from network modeling of brain activity, measured over long time scales. The acquisition of complex of skills, whether piano playing or accounting, involves the coordination of many functional systems distributed across the brain. Recent advances in network science provide the means for identifying directly from brain activity data the underlying separable and distinct functional systems that enable a particular skill. With the tools of network science it is possible to determine the degree to which different functional modules in the brain behave as local communities and to test allegiance of particular modules to one community versus another. This modeling approach provides a rigorous means for investigating large-scale, practice dependent alterations of cortical networks. Critically, network level changes are predictive of individual differences in learning rates and suggest strategies for accelerating learning in anyone. Scott T. Grafton MD, Director, UCSB Brain Imaging Center, Co-Director, Institute for Collaborative Biotechnologies, Professor, Psychological & Brain Sciences, University of California at Santa Barbara All are welcome! Link to "How to get here"
