Connectome Update (BSP 103)

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Olaf Sporns, PhD

Olaf Sporns, PhD

The Human Connectome is a description of the structural connectivity of the human brain, but according to Olaf Sporns, author of Discovering the Human Connectome, this description  must include a description of the brain's dynamic behavior. I first talked with Sporns back in BSP 74, but BSP 103 gave us a chance to talk about recent progress in connectomics.

Sporns sees the study of the brain's connections as fundamental to understanding how the brain works.

"It will allow us to ask new questions that perhaps we couldn’t ask before. It will be a foundational data set for us, just like the genome is. We will not be able to imagine neuroscience going back to a time when we did not have the connectome, but it will not give us all the answers.”

In his first book, Networks of the Brain, Sporns described how Network Theory provides important tools for dealing with the large data sets that are created by studying complex systems like the human brain.  In BSP 103 we discuss both the challenges and the promise of Discovering the Human Connectome. 

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Brain Networks with Olaf Sporns (BSP 74)

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Olaf.jpg

Networks of the Brain by Olaf Sporns is an excellent comprehensive introduction to the use of Network Theory to study both the brain and the nervous systems of invertebrates.

In Episode 74 of the Brain Science Podcast, I interviewed Dr. Sporns (Indiana University) about some of the key ideas in his book.  Network Theory is becoming increasingly important as a tool for dealing with the massive amounts of data being generated by current techniques, such as brain imaging.  It is also a valuable tool for dealing with the fact that nervous systems consist of multiple scales (from the molecular level up to billions of neurons), which can not be reduced to a single scale.

While Networks of the Brain will be of greatest interest to those working in neuroscience and to those with a background in fields like engineering, mathematics, and computer science, this interview provides an introduction for listeners of all backgrounds.

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Related Episodes:

  • BSP 31: Interview with György Buzsáki, author of Rhythms of the Brain.

  • BSP 46: Discussion of Brain Imaging, including Diffusion Imaging.

  • BSP 56: Interview with Dr. Eve Marder about the use of circuit theory in neuroscience.

  • BSP 61: Mapping the Brain (and generating huge amounts of data).

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