Olaf Sporns
Encyclopedia
Olaf Sporns is Professor and Associate Department Chair at Indiana University.
Dr. Sporns received his degree from Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
in Tübingen
, West Germany before going to New York
to study at the Rockefeller University
under Gerald Edelman
. After receiving his doctorate, he followed Edelman to the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California
.
His focus is in the area of computational cognitive neuroscience. His topics of study include functional integration and binding in the cerebral cortex; neural models of perception and action; network structure and dynamics; applications of information theory to the brain; and embodied cognitive science using robotics. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
in 2011 in the Natural Sciences category.
One of the core areas of research being conducted by Dr. Sporns is in the area of complexity of the brain. One aspect in particular is how small world effects are seen in the neural connections which are decentralized in the brain. Research in collaboration with scientists across the world has revealed that there are pathways in the brain that are very well connected. This is insightful for understanding how the architecture of the brain may relate to schizophrenia, autism, and Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Sporns is also interested in understanding the relationship between statistical properties of neuronal populations and perceptual data. How does an organism use and structure its environment in such a way as to achieve (statistically) complex input? To this end, he has run statistical analysis on movement patterns and input within simulations, videos, and robotic devices.
Reward Systems
Dr. Sporns also has a research interest in reward models of the brain utilizing robots. The reward models have shown ways in which dopamine
is onset by drug addiction.
Other
Though not directly related to his core research, PC Magazine reported how the Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Lab is developing robots with human-like qualities in their ability to learn.
Articles:
Dr. Sporns received his degree from Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University of Tübingen
Eberhard Karls University, Tübingen is a public university located in the city of Tübingen, Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is one of Germany's oldest universities, internationally noted in medicine, natural sciences and the humanities. In the area of German Studies it has been ranked first among...
in Tübingen
Tübingen
Tübingen is a traditional university town in central Baden-Württemberg, Germany. It is situated south of the state capital, Stuttgart, on a ridge between the Neckar and Ammer rivers.-Geography:...
, West Germany before going to New York
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
to study at the Rockefeller University
Rockefeller University
The Rockefeller University is a private university offering postgraduate and postdoctoral education. It has a strong concentration in the biological sciences. It is also known for producing numerous Nobel laureates...
under Gerald Edelman
Gerald Edelman
Gerald Maurice Edelman is an American biologist who shared the 1972 Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine for work with Rodney Robert Porter on the immune system. Edelman's Nobel Prize-winning research concerned discovery of the structure of antibody molecules...
. After receiving his doctorate, he followed Edelman to the Neurosciences Institute in La Jolla, California
California
California is a state located on the West Coast of the United States. It is by far the most populous U.S. state, and the third-largest by land area...
.
His focus is in the area of computational cognitive neuroscience. His topics of study include functional integration and binding in the cerebral cortex; neural models of perception and action; network structure and dynamics; applications of information theory to the brain; and embodied cognitive science using robotics. He was awarded a Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowship
Guggenheim Fellowships are American grants that have been awarded annually since 1925 by the John Simon Guggenheim Memorial Foundation to those "who have demonstrated exceptional capacity for productive scholarship or exceptional creative ability in the arts." Each year, the foundation makes...
in 2011 in the Natural Sciences category.
Research
Brain ComplexityOne of the core areas of research being conducted by Dr. Sporns is in the area of complexity of the brain. One aspect in particular is how small world effects are seen in the neural connections which are decentralized in the brain. Research in collaboration with scientists across the world has revealed that there are pathways in the brain that are very well connected. This is insightful for understanding how the architecture of the brain may relate to schizophrenia, autism, and Alzheimer's disease.
Dr. Sporns is also interested in understanding the relationship between statistical properties of neuronal populations and perceptual data. How does an organism use and structure its environment in such a way as to achieve (statistically) complex input? To this end, he has run statistical analysis on movement patterns and input within simulations, videos, and robotic devices.
Reward Systems
Dr. Sporns also has a research interest in reward models of the brain utilizing robots. The reward models have shown ways in which dopamine
Dopamine
Dopamine is a catecholamine neurotransmitter present in a wide variety of animals, including both vertebrates and invertebrates. In the brain, this substituted phenethylamine functions as a neurotransmitter, activating the five known types of dopamine receptors—D1, D2, D3, D4, and D5—and their...
is onset by drug addiction.
Other
Though not directly related to his core research, PC Magazine reported how the Cognitive Computational Neuroscience Lab is developing robots with human-like qualities in their ability to learn.
Publications
Books:- Olaf Sporns, "Networks of the Brain", MIT PressMIT PressThe MIT Press is a university press affiliated with the Massachusetts Institute of Technology in Cambridge, Massachusetts .-History:...
, 2010, ISBN 0-262-01469-6
Articles:
See also
- Biologically inspired computing
- ConnectomeConnectomeA connectome is a comprehensive map of neural connections in the brain.The production and study of connectomes, known as connectomics, may range in scale from a detailed map of the full set of neurons and synapses within part or all of the nervous system of an organism to a macro scale description...
- Parmenides FoundationParmenides FoundationThe Parmenides Foundation was founded by Albrecht von Müller in 2000 to support interdisciplinary research on thinking.The foundation has an international faculty of more than 30 researchers from the fields of neurosciences, philosophy, neuroinformatics, cognitive psychology, linguistics,...
- The Mind's IThe Mind's IThe Mind's I: Fantasies and reflections on self and soul is a 1981 book composed and arranged by Douglas R. Hofstadter and Daniel C. Dennett...