In this episode, we discuss mostly Alex’s connectomics work - and how it is leveraging the Alan Brain Atlas as well as fMRI to better understand the genetic basis of the network structure. He points out clear differences between hubs and other network components - hubs being metabolically more active and usually the locations where various disorders manifest themselves. He also notes that dynamics of resting-state signal is different with hubs. We talk a bit about the ongoing challenge of removing physiological noise in the context of his new and powerful methods for dissecting it out. Lastly, we discuss a bit the new iteration of the OHBM virtual platform that Alex was instrumental in developing.

Guest:

Alex Fornito, Ph.D. has been a leader, educator, and innovator in Brain Imaging. A major emphasis of his work concerns understanding foundational principles of brain organization and their genetic basis; characterizing brain connectivity disturbances in psychiatric disorders such as schizophrenia, and mapping how brain networks dynamically reconfigure in response to changing task demands.

He is currently a Sylvia and Charles Viertel Foundation Senior Research Fellow, Professor of Psychological Sciences, and Head of the Brain Mapping and Modelling Research Program at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health. He also leads his Neural Systems and Behavior Lab.

He completed his Clinical Masters (Neuropsychology) and PhD in 2007 in the Departments of Psychiatry and Psychology at The University of Melbourne before undertaking Post-Doctoral training in the Department of Psychiatry at the University of Cambridge, UK, under the auspices of an NHMRC Training Fellowship.

He has co-authored an outstanding book. (With Andrew Zalesky and Ed Bullmore) on Network neuroscience, titled “Fundamentals of Brain Network Analysis.” He has collaborators all over Europe, the US, and Canada, and is an active member of OHBM where he has been recently instrumental in establishing the virtual platform for the meeting.