CBRAIN: Collective brain research aided by illuminating neural activity

Jee Hyun Choi, Ph.D.

April 8(Thu) - April 8(Thu), 2021

12PM

ZOOM (ID: 728-142-6028 )

Neuro@noon Seminar

Date:  12:00 PM, Thursday, Apr 8th

Title: CBRAIN: Collective brain research aided by illuminating neural activity

 

 

Abstract: For the past half century, brain structure and function have been studied based on one-brain study, collecting information from individually measured brains, which results in fragmented knowledge and a loss of the ability to adequately evaluate the relationship between the brain activities and their interplay with ecological or social interactions. Inspired by flickering fireflies, we introduce an innovative method to monitor brain activities of group housed animals, having a potential to identify the neural activities of collective behaviors and link back to the underlying neural components. The system called by CBRAIN (collective brains research aided by illuminating neural activities) is based on 2.6 g headstage functioning as both wireless neural interface and individual edge computing activity indicator. A neural activity indicator module, which is designed to indicate a specific brain activity with illuminating light, allows to have neural representation of a mouse collective behavior with flickering lights. We demonstrate this system in a group of eight mice under the threat of a spider robot by monitoring gamma band oscillation in the basolateral amygdala, which shows more abundant patterns differed by the situation and their social relationship. We argue that brain activity monitoring in the context of ecological situations or population structures will represent a simpler and superior approaches, allows the evaluation of multiple competing hypotheses as products of reductive approaches, and provide an intuitive framework for probing neuronal circuits underlying the collective behaviors of socially interacting animals.