Science: Polish Perspectives Oxford 2018 - DAY 2 - Speakers session IV: Social Science
Watch Hanna Nowicka (University of Oxford) presenting her research in a fascinating talk on 'Methods for Investigating Brain Connectivity In Ageing'!
The society we live in is ageing and more and more people develop neurodegenerative diseases like dementia or Alzheimer’s. White matter changes have been proven to have an impact on brain function, cognition and memory. However, past studies looked at problem globally, using total white matter change per brain as a measure. Signals in the brain are propagated along the bundles of neurons, called white matter tracts. In ageing or neurodegenerative diseases, the quality of white matter is affected. It can be seen on MRI scans as bright areas (hyperintensities) which correlate highly with patients’ cognitive decline. I develop a method to measure how these hyperintensities on white matter tracts, affect tracts’ connections, to allow researchers for investigating changes in the ageing brain more precisely. In healthy ageing population, changes to white matter are more subtle that in neurodegenerative diseases. Only now, with big datasets available, we have enough statistical power to look into such problems. Hanna is using data from the UK Biobank project. It is a unique dataset, including not only brain images but also genetic data, patients’ health records and even lifestyle factors (like diet). The method she proposes was developed using 5.000 of brain scans (100x more than typical study would have). The method combines three different types of brain MRI scans: brain structure, function, and model of bundles of neurons (tracts), to measure how changes on them interact. Hanna's work introduces a method to look at the problem locally, providing much more specific information about impact of changes on particular neuronal tracts. That should give neuroscientists new insight on how changes in brain structure influence changes in its function due to ageing.
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
[ Ссылка ]
#KeepCalmAndCurieOn
* * *
What is SPP? Science: Polish Perspectives (SPP) is a series of events organised by Polonium Foundation to connect Polish scientific diaspora all over the world - with each other, and with other researchers all over the world. By bringing SPP events to this community, we hope to better understand it and give its members a platform for discussion with academia, policy makers and industry in Poland. All SPP events promote interdisciplinarity and encourage best outreach practices. Our annual SPP Conference happens since 2012 every autumn in Oxford or Cambridge and since 2017 in Berlin. The more local satellite events called SPP Meetups are being organised in different forms all over the world.
The project is co-funded in the framework of the programme of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education under the name "DIALOG" in the project "2018-2020 Gateway to the Polish research diaspora: portal and events integrating the Polish international research community".
Projekt jest współfinansowany w ramach programu Ministra Nauki i Szkolnictwa Wyższego pod nazwą „DIALOG” w projekcie “Gateway to the Polish Research Diaspora: portal oraz wydarzenia integrujące polską światową społeczność badawczą”.
* * *
Polonium Foundation is an independent NGO which brings together students, researchers and people associated with science. We address the negative phenomenon of emigration of highly skilled Polish researchers - "brain drain" - and transform it into a favorable two-way flow of people and ideas - "brain circulation". The Foundation’s activities are focused on linking and supporting Polish researchers working around the world, both in academia and R&D (research and development) sectors, as well as international researchers interested in research opportunities or collaborations with Poland. Regular contact and various types of initiatives have allowed the Foundation to build relationships with Polish scientific diaspora and many international scientists working in Poland and abroad.
