Initiative for Physics and Mathematics of Neural Systems

An NSF EAGER grant supports a new Initiative for Physics and Mathematics of Neural Systems.  This Initiative includes seminars bringing together physicists, engineers, mathematicians and neuroscientists for discussion of current research questions.  The summary of the NSF EAGER grant is presented below. The principal investigator of the grant is Prof. Michael Hasselmo (hasselmo@bu.edu), and the participants include Prof. H. Eugene Stanley, Prof. Douglas Rosene, Prof. Marc Howard, Prof. Richard H. Myers and Prof. Eric Kolaczyk.

PROJECT SUMMARY

This project will foster collaborations between physicists, mathematicians and neuroscientists to generate theoretical frameworks and statistical tools to interpret genomic, anatomical and physiological data on brain function. A community of researchers will be built through development of a seminar series for discussions of problems in which the theoretical approaches of physics, mathematics and statistics can be brought to be bear on specific research questions regarding neural systems. In addition, a set of pilot projects will be funded to foster collaborations between mathematicians, physicists and neuroscientists. The novel, interdisciplinary nature of this work makes it appropriate for an EAGER award application. Specific pilot projects will use the techniques of theoretical physics to address problems of understanding large scale functional anatomical connectivity, with the objective of identifying constraints on the distance and pattern of inter-areal connectivity in the human brain. Pilot projects will also develop a theoretical framework for understanding neural activity on different time scales during behavior, with the objective of understanding the unifying neural principles underlying human memory behavior over time scales from seconds to minutes to hours.  Pilot projects will also develop mathematical and statistical techniques to identify molecular networks underlying specific features of neural function, with the objective of identifying specific network modules in the prefrontal cortex. These pilot projects will provide example interactions that can be expanded to further build a community of interaction of physicists, mathematicians and neuroscientists.

INTELLECTUAL MERIT

The maturation of scientific fields such as physics required the development of sophisticated theoretical frameworks to account for experimental phenomena at multiple different scales of analysis ranging from particle physics to condensed matter physics to astrophysics. The maturation of neuroscience as a field will require similarly sophisticated theoretical frameworks that effectively account for data at the different levels including the genomic, physiological and behavioral levels. Current theories of single neuron function have not yet been effectively extended to address physiological phenomena at the circuit and population level or the behavioral function of these network dynamics. The pilot projects in this grant will attempt to develop theoretical frameworks for addressing these multiple levels of analysis. The intellectual merit of the proposal will be the application of mathematical and statistical techniques to the interpretation of neuroscience data, including the development of theoretical models to account for existing data and guide the design of future experiments.

BROADER IMPACTS

The field of neuroscience needs more extensive development of a theoretical frameworks for understanding the structure and function of neural systems at different levels including genomic, physiological and behavioral. Successful interactions in the pilot projects proposed in this application could provide a model for further interaction of physicists, mathematicians and neuroscientists throughout the field. More specifically, these pilot projects will provide a framework for development of new theories for analyzing the connectivity patterns of neural systems, the dynamics of brain function underlying behavior, and the molecular networks underlying these neural properties. The resources provided by this grant will serve to recruit additional mathematicians and physicists to address relevant questions concerning brain function.