Exploring the Mechanisms of Distributed Spontaneous Brain Activity. (360G-Wellcome-106183_Z_14_Z)

My research focuses on answering questions about the mechanisms that underlie widely-distributed networks of neural activity. I develop novel techniques for empirically characterizing whole-brain activity using multi-modal imaging and probabilistic inference, in combination with computational network models as mechanistic explanations of these observations. The research in this proposal will change the time-scales at which we can answer these questions, enabling investigation into the volatil ity of spontaneous brain activity, and the role of homeostatic synaptic plasticity in maintaining spontaneous activity at a suitable operating point. I will also investigate the use of measures of brain activity stability and homeostatic control in the clinical setting. I will build novel analytic methods and biophysical models, and use experimental investigations incorporating human and multi-cellular rodent recordings. I will: (i) characterise spontaneous brain activity on fast (sub-second) time scales; (ii) propose mechanisms of how these characteristics arise as an emergent property from anatomical connectivity; (iii) investigate the nature of the interactions within and between brain areas; (iv) propose a role for homeostasis through plasticity in regulating whole-brain activity; and (v) assess the utility of measures of brain activity stability and homeostatic control as biomarkers in disease.