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VERSION:2.0
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CALSCALE:GREGORIAN
METHOD:PUBLISH
BEGIN:VEVENT
DTSTAMP:20260914T140952Z
LAST-MODIFIED:20141121T213518Z
DTSTART:20141211T200000Z
DTEND:20141211T210000Z
UID:event1366@bu.edu
URL:http://physics.bu.edu/internal/events/show/1366
SUMMARY:Understanding the Brain through its Spatial Structure
DESCRIPTION:Featuring Will Morrison\n\nPart of the PhD Final Oral Exams.\n\
	nDissertation Committee:  H.E. Stanley\, Robert Carey\, Shyam Erramilli\, W
	illiam Skocpol. Rama Basil\n\nAbstract:\n\nThe spatial location of cells in
	 neural tissue can be easily extracted from many imaging modalities\, but t
	he information contained in spatial relationships between cells is seldom u
	tilized. This is because of a lack of recognition of the importance of spat
	ial relationships to some aspects of brain function\, and the reflection in
	 spatial statistics of other types of information. The mathematical tools n
	ecessary to describe spatial relationships are also unknown to many neurosc
	ientists\, and biologists in general.\nWe analyze two cases\, and show that
	 spatial relationships can be used to understand the role of a particular t
	ype of cell\, the astrocyte\, in Alzheimer’s disease\, and that the geome
	try of axons in the brain’s white matter sheds light on the process of es
	tablishing connectivity between areas of the brain. \nAstrocytes provide nu
	trients for neuronal metabolism\, and regulate the chemical environment of 
	the brain\, activities that require manipulation of spatial distributions (
	of neurotransmitters\, for example). We first show\, through the use of a c
	orrelation function\, that inter-astrocyte forces determine the size of ind
	ependent regulatory domains in the cortex. By examining the spatial distrib
	ution of astrocytes in a mouse model of Alzheimer’s Disease\, we determin
	e that astrocytes are not actively transported to fight the disease\, as wa
	s previously thought.\nThe paths axons take through the white matter determ
	ine which parts of the brain are connected\, and how quickly signals are tr
	ansmitted. The rules that determine these paths (i.e. shortest distance) ar
	e currently unknown. By measurement of axon orientation distributions using
	 three-point correlation functions and the statistics of axon turning and b
	ranching\, we reveal that axons are restricted to growth in three direction
	s\, like a taxicab traversing city blocks\, albeit in three-dimensions. We 
	show how geometric restrictions at the small scale are related to large-sca
	le trajectories. Finally we discuss the implications of this finding for ex
	perimental and theoretical connectomics.\n\n\n![Will](/resources/event-imag
	e/1366/4ab7896_small)
LOCATION:SCI 352\, 590 Commonwealth Avenue\, 02215
STATUS:CONFIRMED
CLASS:PUBLIC
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