December 18, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
-tba-
Presentation type: Science (4-5 pm)
Cognition and gait in the ageing population
Professor Reto Kressig*
*Felix Platter Spital, Basel
December 11, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
Predictive coding network for fear conditioning
Prof. Dominik Bach*
*Department of Psychiatry, Psychotherapy, and Psychosomatics; University of Zurich
Presentation type: Science
Presentation type: Science
-tba-
November 20, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- tba -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Bogdan Draganski)
Fluid biomarkers of Alzheimer’s disease, Current and future use in clinical and translational research
Julius Popp*
*Département de psychiatrie, CHUV, Lausanne
Abstract : Biomarkers are now established as part of research diagnosis criteria of Alzheimer’s disease. CSF biomarkers are widely used in clinical observational research and interventional trials. Blood based biomarker discovery will provide essential insights in very early pathophysiological disease features and their changes over time, and offer large opportunities for both clinical and translational research. The talk will give a short overview of the current research in this filed.
November 13, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- tba -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Marzia De Lucia)
Peripersonal space as a multisensory-motor interface between the individual and the environment
Andrea Serino*
*Center for Neuroprosthetics, EPFL, Lausanne
Abstract: The experience of our embodied Self is not limited to the physical constraints of our body, but it extends into the space where the body interacts with the environment, i.e. peripersonal space (PPS). I will show how premotor and posterior-parietal brain regions represent PPS by integrating multisensory-motor signals related to the physical body and to the space immediately around it. I will show how the boundaries of PPS adapt as a function of experience, such as tool-use or self-other interactions. Finally, I will present new data suggesting a close relationship between the extent of PPS representation and Self-consciousness.
October 9, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
COMPASS: Predicting long-term language function recovery after stroke
Sandrine Muller*
*LREN ,CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
Presentation type: Science
- tba -
October 2, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
Brainstem MRI biomarker to predict the risk of Sudden Unexpected Death in Epilepsy
Carolina Ciumas-Gaumond*
*Département des Neurosciences Cliniques ,CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland
Presentation type: Science
- tba -
June 26, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- tba -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Ferath Kherif)
Some challenges in brain morphometry: from research to clinical practice
Alexis Roche, PhD *
* Advanced Clinical Imaging Technology, Siemens / CHUV / EPFL
Abstract: MR image-based brain morphometry has proved an invaluable means to study anatomical changes related to various diseases. I will review several challenges to bring brain morphometry into daily clinical practice, from robust image processing algorithms to efficient workflows and unbiased statistical analysis.
June 19, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- tba -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Ferath Kherif)
Association between long-term cognitive decline in Vietnam War Veterans with TBI and Caregiver Attachement Style
Andrea Brioschi Guevara*
*Centre Leenaards de la mémoire, CHUV, Lausanne, Switzerland ; Behavioral Neurology Unit, National Institutes of Health, Bethesda, USA
Abstract : We examined in Vietnam War veterans whether a caregiver's attachment style is associated with patient cognitive trajectory after traumatic brain injury (TBI) over a period of 40 years. The results will be interpreted in the context of the neural plasticity and cognitive reserve literatures.
June 12, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- none -
Presentation type: Science
- none -
June 5, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- tba -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Marzia De Lucia)
Vestibular contribution to visual cortical processing
Christian Pfeiffer*
*Laboratory of Cognitive Neuroscience, EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract: Accurate self-motion perception critically depends on the integration of visual and vestibular signals. The brain mechanisms underlying such visual-vestibular integration in humans remain, however, elusive. Perhaps this is due to difficulties involved in combining natural vestibular stimulation with non-invasive neuroimaging. Here we studied the spatiotemporal brain dynamics underlying the modulation of visual evoked potentials by natural vestibular stimulation, induced by passive whole-body yaw rotation. Electrical neuroimaging analyses during vestibular stimulation and a non-vestibular control period showed that vestibular stimulation modulated the visual evoked potential response strength (i.e. global field power) and topographical pattern (i.e. global map dissimilarity) in the intervals 83-119 ms and 178-205 ms after stimulus onset. Distributed source estimations over these time intervals revealed that these vestibular effects of visual processing were related to neural activity modulation in the right posterior insula cortex, a core region of the vestibular cortical network, as well as in the occipital, parietal and temporal regions of the ventral and dorsal visual pathways. These results suggest that human self-motion perception is based on distinct functional processing steps involving rapid processing in extrastriate visual and vestibular cortical regions.
May 29, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- tba -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Ferath Kherif)
Systems and cell biological approaches to study complexity in Alzheimer's disease
Prof. Lawrence Rajendran*
*Systems and Cell Biology of Neurodegeneration, Psychiatry Research, University of Zurich, Switzerland
Abstract: The Rajendran lab at the university of Zürich studies the complexity of Alzheimer's disease by combining the power of systems biology and cell biology. Rajendran studied the mechanisms by which neurons regulate the production of the amyloid b (Ab) peptide, a central molecule in the pathogenesis of Alzheimer’s disease. Particularly, he studied the involvement of lipids and membrane trafficking in Ab metabolism and using biochemical, genetic and cell biological tools, he identified early endosomes to be the organelles responsible for Ab production. He discovered a novel exosomal pathway through which the Ab peptides could exit the cell to accumulate in the form of amyloid plaques. Two years after identifying the subcellular organelle responsible for Ab production, he showed that b-secretase, the rate-limiting enzyme in Ab production, can be efficiently inhibited if a soluble b-secretase inhibitor is targeted to the endosomes via membrane anchoring. This work provided key insights into designing effective drugs for membrane-associated targets. He has now extended it to study the genetic complexity of Alzheimer’s disease whereby his lab is now performing a whole genome RNAi screens on amyloid formation and in parallel study the genetic association of such genes to the risk of late-onset Alzheimer’s disease.
May 22, 2015
3.30-4 pm: Presentation type: project presentation
Target suppression and information loss in crowding: an fMRI study
Vitaly Chicherov*
*Laboratory of Psychophysics (LPSY), BMI EPFL, Lausanne, Switzerland.
Presentation type: Science
- none -
May 8, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- none -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Marzia De Lucia)
Cortical activity is more stable when sensory stimuli are consciously perceived
Aaron Schurger*
*Cognitive Neuroimaging Unit at NeuroSpin, CEA, Gif-sur-Yvette, France
Based on theory, prior evidence, and known properties of recurrent networks, we predicted that in order for a neural representation to be perceived, it must “hold steady” (remain stable) for at least a brief period of time. We tested this hypothesis in normal healthy subjects viewing threshold-level visual stimuli, and responding "seen" or "unseen" to each one. We also tested this hypothesis in a large cohort of patients with disorders of consciousness who were exposed to supra-threshold auditory stimuli. The relative stability of the pattern of activity activity in response to the stimuli diverged parametrically according to clinically diagnosed level-of-consciousness. Differences in signal strength could not account for these results. Conscious perception may involve the transient stabilization of distributed cortical networks, corresponding to a global brain-scale decision. Stability may find clinical applications in the diagnosis and prognosis of brain-injured patients.
May 1, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- none -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Bogdan Draganski)
The brain is in the body: ontologies and data curation in biology
Marc Robinson-Rechavi*
*Evolutionary Bioinformatics Group, UNIL, Lausanne, Switzerland
Ontologies are essential tools for organising and using biological knowldge. To compare gene expression between species (http://bgee.org), we participate in the develop of Uberon (http://uberon.org/), a multispecies anatomical ontology, we annotate anatomical homology between species, we develop developmental ontologies for many species, and we use reasoners on these ontologies. I will present a brief overview of this work in the general context of biological ontologies and biocuration.
April 24, 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- none -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Antoine Lutti)
Simultaneous EEG-fMRI at 7T: subject safety, data quality improvement and applications
João Jorge*
*Institute for Systems and Robotics, Department of Bioengineering, Instituto Superior Técnico, Technical University of Lisbon, Lisbon, Portugal and Biomedical Imaging Research Center, École Polytechnique Fédérale de Lausanne, Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract : Simultaneous EEG-fMRI is a powerful neuroscience tool, and the increased functional sensitivity offered by ultra-high field imaging opens exciting perspectives for the future of this technique. However, EEG-fMRI acquisitions at higher field strengths pose important safety concerns, and are affected by important artifacts that can strongly compromise data quality. In this talk, I will provide an overview of our experience with simultaneous EEG-fMRI at the 7T head MR scanner of the CIBM, covering our main methodological advances and introducing a few recently-started applications.
March 27, 2015
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Antoine Lutti)
Improving EEG-correlated fMRI: applications in epilepsy
Authors: Patricia Figueiredo*
*Institute for Systems and Robotics, Lisbon, Portugal.
Abstract: One of the challenges when integrating simultaneously-acquired EEG-fMRI data for EEG-correlated fMRI is the extraction of a representative time-course from the EEG to derive a predictor of the BOLD signal recorded by fMRI. This involves the identification of an event of interest on the EEG data and of an EEG-to-BOLD signal transfer function, as well as the crucial correction of the artifacts induced on the EEG signal in the MR environment. In this talk, I will present some of our work addressing these issues, namely: improved methods for EEG artifact correction, extraction of representative time courses of event-related activity from the EEG data, and investigation of different EEG features for BOLD signal prediction. I will show the results of applying these methodologies to EEG-fMRI data integration in epilepsy.
March, 20th 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
- none -
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Anne Ruef)
Epidemiology of mood disorders
Martin Preisig*
*Department of Psychiatry, Lausanne University Hospital, Prilly, Switzerland
March, 13th 2015
3.30pm-4.15pm: Presentation type: Science (hosted by Bogdan Draganski)
Neuromuscular electrical stimulation in humans – Combined investigations of neural and muscular function using electrophysiological and nuclear resonance techniques
Authors: Jennifer Wegrzyk*
*Aix-Marseille University, Centre National de la Recherche Scientifique (CNRS), Centre de Résonance Magnétique Biologique et Médicale (CRMBM), Unité Mixte de Recherche 7339, Marseille, FRANCE
Abstract: Neuromuscular electrical stimulation (NMES) can preserve, restore and enhance muscle mass and function in healthy subjects and patients. The motor unit recruitment pattern of NMES, however, differs from that of voluntary contractions and leads to a hastened onset of muscle fatigue. The aim of this multidisciplinary study (EMG, 31P MRS, BOLD fMRI) was to evaluate the efficiency of a new NMES protocol for neuromuscular intact human calf muscles. We hypothesized that by modulating the stimulation parameters (100Hz, 1ms), NMES might approach the muscle activation pattern of natural contractions by enhancing the neural contribution to force production and by resulting in a lower metabolic cost as compared to the conventionally used parameters (25 Hz, 0.05 ms).
4.15pm-5pm: Presentation type: Science (hosted by Borja Rodriguez-Herreros)
Neurophysiological and neuroimaging markers of brain plasticity induced by Musical-Supported Therapy in Stroke patients
Authors: Julià L Amengual*
*Institute of Brain and Spine, Paris, France
Abstract: Musical training has emerged as a useful framework for the investigation of training-related plasticity in the human brain. Learning to play an instrument orchestrates the interaction of different modalities and high-order cognitive functions resulting in behavioral changes but also in functional and structural modifications on the brain. Because of this capacity to promote neuroplastic changes, music has been used to design novel therapeutic approaches for effective stroke rehabilitation. In this context, Music-Supported Therapy (MST) has been recently developed to restore motor deficits, and enhancement of the motor function has been largely reported in different samples of stroke patients. However, the neural mechanisms underlying these motor gains were poorly understood. Using neuroimaging techniques (functional magnetic ressonance imaging; fMRI) and electrophysiological recordings (Transcranial magnetic stimulation; TMS), we have investigated the functional changes on the brain produced by the application of the MST in two samples of stroke patients. Our results show significant motor gains after the application of the MST concomitant with neural changes in the sensorimotor cortex of these patients, suggesting that the characteristics of MST are suited to induce motor plasticity. We expect that the application of the MST as a regular intervention by physicians might improve the actual gold standard methods in rehabilitation and therefore increase the quality of life of stroke survivors.
March, 6th 2015
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Ferath Kherif)
Gene analysis… a step forward
Authors: Linda Dib*
*LREN, Lausanne, Switzerland
Abstract: Over 150 years ago Charles Darwin first introduced the concept of co-evolution in his On the Origin of the Species when he described interactions between two species. His initial observation suggests that when two organisms establish a relationship each organism will evolve over time to maintain its functional relationship with the other. In the past few decades this concept has been applied to proteins and concerns the co-mutation of amino acids within a given sequence, a process commonly known as intramolecular co-evolution. I have recently developed two methods for the detection co-evolving positions in sequences. The first method is a combinatorial and compares the homologous sequences whereas the other method is probabilistic and looks for the evolution od amino acids along the specie tree. The probabilistic model, Coev, identifies coevolving positions and their associated profile in DNA sequences while incorporating the underlying phylogenetic relationships. The process of coevolution is modeled by a 16 × 16 instantaneous rate matrix that includes rates of transition as well as a profile of coevolution. I used simulated, empirical and illustrative data to evaluate our model and to compare it with a model of independent evolution using Akaike Information Criterion. I showed that the Coev model is able to discriminate between coevolving and non-coevolving positions and provides better specificity and specificity than other available approaches. I further demonstrate that the identification of the profile of coevolution can shed new light on the process of dependent substitution during lineage evolution. This method was implemented in a maximum likelihood and Bayesian framework.The development of Bayesian methods in health sciences and biology has increased tremendously over the past decades (Cooke et al. 2014, Uyeda et al. 2014). Evolutionary biology, and in particular the fields of phylogenetics and population genetics, has largely benefited from these developments. I applied both methods on a large set of proteins. Among these proteins, i took particular care to analyse the output of Amyloid Beta protein that is implied in Alzheimer disease. The method revealed that well-known fragments of the protein are co-evolving revealing an evolutionary signature in this protein.
February, 20th 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
fMRI reward paradigm in patients with deletions or duplications of the 16p11.2 region
Sandra Martin**, Borja Rodriguez-Herreros**, Aurélie Pain**, Anne Maillard**, Loyse Hippolyte**, Ferath Kherif*, Sebastien Jacquemont**, Bogdan Draganski*
*LREN – DNC, CHUV-UNIL ** Service de Génétique Médicale, Centre Hospitalier Universitaire Vaudois, Lausanne, Switzerland
23 January 2015
Presentation type: project presentation
Speed-accuracy tradeoff
Natacha Vida Martins, Renaud Marquis*, Leyla Loued-Khenissi*, Ferath Kherif*, Antoine Lutti*, Bogdan Draganski*, Kamiar Aminian **; *LREN – DNC, CHUV-UNIL ** LMAM EPFL
9 January 2015
Presentation type: Science (hosted by Ferath Kherif)
Artur Marchewka, Laboratory of Brain Imaging (LOBI), Neurobiology Center, Nencki Institute of Experimental Biology
Title: "Too disgusting to forget – the effect of basic emotions on directed forgetting"
In the current fMRI study we used a subset of negative stimuli from Nencki Affective Pictures System (NAPS) divided according to discrete emotional approach (Fear, Sadness, Disgust). Stimuli evoking disgust had the highest recognition rate, and thus were the most difficult to forget, compared to both neutral and other negative stimuli. This effect was coupled with increased brain activity for disgusting stimuli in the left amygdala. This preliminary result will be further discussed during the talk.
