Description:

Abstract:

What type of system is the brain? The brain is widely assumed to be one of many modular systems in nature, which are thought to be computational tractable and favored by evolution. While focal brain lesions lead to very specific cognitive deficits, suggesting a modular structure, other focal lesions can have a widespread impact on cognition, suggesting that some cognitive processes emerge from interactions between many brain regions that are not functionally organized as modules. Thus, how information is functionally segregated yet integrated across brain modules remains an open question. In this talk, I will discuss a series of empirical findings from fMRI studies that begin to elucidate the neural architecture of modular processing by showing that brain modules execute discrete processes and connector hubs are likely integrating and sending information across modules in support of goal-directed cognition. I will also discuss how a better understanding of this type of large scale organization of the brain may lead to new approaches in the diagnosis, treatment and rehabilitation of cognitive disorders.

Speaker Info: 

Mark D’Esposito, M.D. is Professor of Neuroscience and Psychology, and Director of the Henry H. Wheeler Jr. Brain Imaging Center at University of California, Berkeley. He is also currently the Editor-In-Chief of the Journal of Cognitive Neuroscience. His lab investigates the neural mechanisms underlying working memory, cognitive control and frontal lobe function utilizing different convergent experimental approaches such as functional MRI, transcranial magnetic stimulation, pharmacological interventions and behavioral studies of healthy individuals and those with neurological disorders. He has over 375 research publications, written and edited six books, and received numerous competitive NIH research grants. He has trained over 75 graduate students and post-doctoral fellows and received many clinical and academic awards.