Complex Brain Networks in Health, Development and Disease

我们都熟悉复杂的网络：计算机病毒是如何在互联网上传播的？传染病是如何在人群中传播的？谣言是如何在员工中传播的？人们发现，常见的连接模式往往出现在许多不同类型的网络中。计算机科学家、物理学家和数学家已经开发出分析、分类和解释这些模式的技术。最近的大脑扫描技术使我们能够观察活体人脑内的网络：大脑的哪些部分与其他部分相连？本项目将把网络分析工具应用于这些新的实验数据。它将使我们能够解决一些基本问题，例如：人类大脑是如何连接的？是什么让人类的大脑不同于其他灵长类动物？此外，通过比较健康患者和患病患者的脑部扫描，我们可以看到这样的问题：阿尔茨海默病、多发性硬化症或精神分裂症患者的大脑线路出了什么问题？什么样的医疗干预可能是有用的？该项目团队包括神经科学家，计算机科学家和数学家，并可以从牛津大学和约翰拉德克利夫医院的大脑功能磁成像中心获得尖端的大脑扫描数据。

We are all familiar with complex networks: How does a computer virus spread around the internet? How does a contagious disease get passed around a popluation? How does a rumour spread through a workforce? It has been found that common patterns of connectivity tend to arise in lots of different types of network. Computer scientists, physicists and mathematicians have developed techniques to analyse, categorise and explain these patterns. Very recent brain scanning technology allows us to look at networks within the living human brain: Which parts of the brain are connected to which other parts? This project will apply the tools of network analysis to this new experimental data. It will allow us to address fundamental questions such as: How is the human brain wired up?, and What makes the human brain different from that of other primates? Also, by comparing brain scans from healthy and diseased patients, we can look at issues such as: What goes wrong with the wiring in patients with Alzheimer s disease or Multiple Sclerosis or schizophrenia?, and What type of medical intervntion is likely to be useful?The project teaminvolves neuroscientists, computer scientists and mathematicians and has accessto cutting edge brain scan data from theCentre for Functional Magnetic Imaging of the Brain at theUniversity of Oxfordand John Radcliffe Hospital.