The Multi-scale Brain
About this course
Understanding the brain requires an integrated understanding of different scales of organisation of the brain. This means studying the role that genes, channels, cells, microcircuits, and even whole brain regions have in different types of behaviour: From perception to action, while asleep or when awake.
This course will take you through the latest data, models and techniques for investigating the different levels of the brain. We will show how we can put the pieces together, attain new insights, and derive new theories. With contributions from more than 10 international neuroscientists from six different research institutions, the MOOC gives a broad overview of the latest tools and techniques for neuroinformatics, analysis, modelling and simulation.
At the same time, several different tutorials on available data and data tools, such as those from the Allen Institute for Brain Science, provide you with in-depth knowledge on brain atlases, gene expression data and modeling neurons. These tutorials will be followed by exercises that give you the opportunity to acquire the necessary skills to use the tools and data for your own research.
What you will learn
How to explain and contrast different techniques for visualization, mapping, and modeling of single cells, synaptic fields, larger circuits of neurons, and long-range interactions between cortical areas
Ways to classify neurons and relate cell morphology to function
How to use brain atlases and modeling tools
Meet the instructors
Sean Hill, Professor École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne, Blue Brain Project, Director of the Krembil Centre of Neuroinformatics at the Centre of Addiction and Mental Health in Toronto, Canada
Dr. Terri Gilbert, Gilhou Scientific Communications
Dr. Forrest Collman, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Dr. Trygve Bakken, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Dr. Saskia de Vries, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Dr. Jack Waters, Allen Institute for Brain Science
Prof. Huib Mansvelder, Professor Center for Neurogenomics and Cognitive Research
Dr. Vilas Menon, Janelia research campus
Dr. Alain Destexhe, Le Centre national de la recherche scientifique
Prof. Francesco Pavone, Professor École polytechnique fédérale de Lausanne
Dr. Danilo Bzdok, RWTH Aachen University
Dr. Michael Reimann, Group Leader for Connectomics within the Simulation Neuroscience Division, Blue Brain Project