PhD Defenses

PHYSICS PHD DISSERTATION DEFENSE: Byungwoo Kang

Date
Tue September 28th 2021, 3:00pm

Ph.D. Candidate:  Byungwoo Kang
Research Advisor:  Shaul Druckmann

Date: Tuesday, September 28, 2021
Time: 3pm PDT


Zoom Link: https://stanford.zoom.us/j/95612636713
Password: email mariaf67 [at] stanford.edu (mariaf67[at]stanford[dot]edu)


Title: Modularity and robustness of frontal cortical networks

 

Abstract:

Neural activity underlying short-term memory is maintained by interconnected networks of brain regions. It remains unknown how brain regions interact to maintain persistent activity while exhibiting robustness to corrupt information in parts of the network. We simultaneously measured activity in large neuronal populations across mouse frontal hemispheres to probe interactions between brain regions during short-term memory. Activity across hemispheres was highly coordinated to maintain coherent short-term memory. Across a population of mice, we uncovered individual variability in the organization of frontal cortical networks that explained the robustness of short-term memory. Modular organization across hemispheres prevented local perturbations from spreading and predicted the robustness of behavior. A dynamic gating mechanism organized frontal networks into modules that coordinate coherent information while gating out corrupt information. Our results show that robust short-term memory is mediated by redundant modular representations across brain regions. Modular organization naturally emerges in neural network models that learned robust dynamics.