CNS*2026 Halifax

Brain function is mediated by neuronal microcircuits with specific connectivity between neuron types, and it is increasingly evident that altered microcircuitry underlies deficits in brain disorders such as depression and schizophrenia, and in aging and Alzheimer’s. However, our ability to monitor the microcircuitry in living humans is limited, meriting the use of detailed computational simulations to overcome experimental limitations in linking the microcircuit mechanisms with altered cortical activity, functional deficits and biomarkers in clinically-relevant brain signals.
This workshop will showcase the latest efforts from leading groups in large-scale neuronal microcircuit modeling of spiking activity and signals such as EEG and MEG. The workshop will present diverse data-driven microcircuit modeling approaches that integrate neuronal, synaptic and functional data, and the different simulation tools used to generate activity and brain signals from the models. The workshop will highlight clinical applications of the models in establishing target mechanisms for treatment, and estimating microcircuit mechanisms from clinical signals in patient data with machine learning to improve diagnosis. This workshop aims to foster the exchange of methods and ideas, and offer new insights on clinical applications of simulated large-scale cortical microcircuits.

Schedule:

9:00 - 9:30: Applications of detailed human cortical microcircuit models in mental health
Etay Hay
Assistant Professor, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto

9:30 - 10:00 : Depression EEG biomarkers of reduced inhibition in detailed multilayer human microcircuit models
Heng Kan Yao
Postdoc, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto

10:00 - 10:30: Large-scale biophysical models of cortical circuits to better understand and treat Alzheimer’s disease and Schizophrenia
Salvador Dura-Bernal
Associate Professor, State University of New York (SUNY) Downstate

10:30 - 11:00: Break and free discussion

11:00 - 11:30: The next-generation Human Neocortical Neurosolver modeling software reveals a prominent contribution of dendritic calcium to E/MEG biomarkers of mental health
Katharina Duecker
Postdoc, Brown University

11:30 - 12:00: Estimating microcircuit age changes from subject EEG and linking with cognitive decline
Alexandre Guet-McCreight
Postdoc, Centre for Addiction and Mental Health, University of Toronto

12:00 - 12:30: Concluding discussion