Neurosalience

Michael Breakspear, Ph.D. is a physicist and psychiatrist and the leader of the Systems Neuroscience and Translational Neuroimaging Group at the Hunter Medical Research Institute at the University of Newcastle in Australia. In this wide ranging discussion, Peter talks to Michael about his motivations for dynamic modeling of the brain and how his research may pay off in the long run towards clinical applications. Michael is also the Editor in Chief of the journal NeuroImage; there is discussion of some of the changes that have occurred, such as new types of papers, new policies on data sharing, and of course the transition to open access. Michael mentions a new offshoot of NeuroImage called NeuroImage reports, which welcome re-analysis of previous results. Lastly, recent news of the Australian National University shutting down its Neuroscience program because of budget problems is discussed.

Dr. Ahmad Hariri is Professor of Psychology & Neuroscience at Duke University, where he is also the Director of the Laboratory of NeuroGenetics. Dr. Hariri recently published an important paper on the test-retest reliability of common task-fMRI measures. This received attention in the field and from the popular media and generated useful discussions. In this podcast Peter and Ahmad discuss the implications of this paper and how to address the challenges it presents and continue to move the field forward. This is an informative and positive discussion about how to collectively address these issues as a field.

This podcast idea was precipitated by Dimitri Kullman’s 2020 editorial in Brain, causing a stir in the community. It levelled criticism about the clinical validity of fMRI. Some of it was outdated but some was indeed on point.  In this podcast we had a great discussion on all things fMRI -  what it can and cannot measure, and how it can continue to proceed. We also discuss some of the scientific culture surrounding fMRI. Overall, the discussion was useful in bringing some of the flaws as well as some of the outstanding innovations to light. We ended up agreeing that fMRI is in fact, an extremely useful tool that allows penetrating insight into the brain at a specific temporal and spatial scale. We feel that there is still considerable hope yet also considerable challenge in increasing its clinical relevance. Guests:  Dr. Dimitri Kullmann is a professor of Neurology at UCL Queen Square Institute of Neurology. Dr. Vince Calhoun is the director, since 2019, of Translational Research in Neuroimaging and Data Science (TReNDS), which includes three universities: Georgia State, Georgia Tech, and Emory.

Here Peter Bandettini has a wide  ranging discussion with the 2021 Early Career Investigator Awardee, Chao-Gan Yan. They talk a bit about his career path, the highly impactful work he has been doing, as well as some of the most challenging issues in fMRI: dealing with motion, variability, finding biomarkers, and designing just the right packages that help the beginner and  expert alike. Chao-Gan gives some great advice to new investigators regarding what was important to him to get him where he is today.

In this week's episode, Peter discusses the history of the Open Science Special Interest Group and the unique and important role this group plays in OHBM, alongside Janine Bijsterbosh, Johanna Bayer, Katie Bottenhorn, Melvin Selim Atay and Aki Nikolaidis. The OHBM Open Science Special Interest Group fosters open science not only by encouraging best practices and sharing data and code, but by encouraging inclusivity in science and open ended discussion in a supportive environment.

Join host Peter Bandettini as he talks with Dr. Nikolaus Weiskopf, Director of the Department of Neurophysics at the Max Planck Institute for Human Cognitive and Brain Sciences.

In this episode of NeuroSalience, Peter chats with Alex about connectomics, or the study of the brain’s networks of connections. We discuss Alex’s work leveraging the Allen Brain Atlas (https://portal.brain-map.org/) and fMRI to better understand the genetic basis of the network structure. He points out clear differences between network hubs and other network components, with hubs having important roles in resting state dynamics and in neurological disorders. We also discuss the ongoing challenge of removing physiological noise from the fMRI signal in the context of his new and powerful methods for dissecting it out. Last, we touch on the new iteration of the OHBM virtual platform that Alex was instrumental in developing.

In this episode, Peter Bandettini meets with Tom Nichols, Remi Gau and Jack Van Horn to discuss the motivation for a set of best reporting and analysis practices. This provides insight into how the COBIDAS (Committee on Best Practice in Data Analysis and Sharing) in OHBM was started. They talk about the reproducibility crisis in fMRI and how it is being addressed. They discuss how the culture of fMRI has changed from isolated scientists doing N=20 studies to a connected web of researchers collecting and contributing to fMRI databases of high quality data for the purpose of revealing ever more subtle information. Through this work, the field aims to achieve robust biomarkers that are clinically useful in diagnosing and treating diseases. They also discuss many of the issues and decisions made in analysis,  and how this may contribute to irreproducible results. Last, they consider the ongoing and future global efforts to increase data transparency to make fMRI a more effective tool.

In this episode Peter Bandettini meets Carolina Makowski, Michele Veldsman and Alex Fornito to discuss the OHBM Student–Postdoc special interest group (SIG), with particular emphasis on their mentoring scheme and meeting-related workshops. Carolina is a current member of the SIG and Michele previously served as its Chair, Alex has been an active mentor to several junior OHBM members over the years through this group. They discuss the mentorship program, the workshops at the meeting, what good mentorship is, and why it’s needed more than ever, as the stresses and demands of students and postdocs increases within an ever more demanding professional climate.

In this conversation, Peter Bandettini meets members of the BrainArt SIG to discuss its history from the NeuroBureau to its current formal SIG status. They discuss what brain art (or more generally science art) is, consider what the best features of brain art are and how, essentially, any scientist trying to convey the essence of their findings can be considered an artist. You’ll discover the planned competitions and directions of the BrainArt SIG. The discussion also considers why diversity in this SIG, the field of Brain Mapping, and science in general is so important.