[VIRTUAL] Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series: Role of Mechanical Morphogenesis on the Development and Evolution of the Mammalian Brain
The Feindel Brain and Mind Seminar Series will advance the vision of Dr. William Feindel (1918–2014), Former Director of the Neuro (1972–1984), to constantly bridge the clinical and research realms. The talks will highlight the latest advances and discoveries in neuropsychology, cognitive neuroscience, and neuroimaging.
Speakers will include scientists from across The Neuro, as well as colleagues and collaborators locally and from around the world. The series is intended to provide a virtual forum for scientists and trainees to continue to foster interdisciplinary exchanges on the mechanisms, diagnosis and treatment of brain and cognitive disorders.
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Katja Heuer
Postdoc, Lab of Applied and Theoretical Neuroanatomy, Institut Pasteur, France
Host: justine.clery [at] mcgill.ca (Justine Clery)
Abstract: The development of a complex brain is often assumed to result from genetic and activity-dependent processes. Our work explores to what extent a third factor – mechanical morphogenesis – can also play a causal role in shaping the development and evolution of the brain. We call mechanical morphogenesis the process leading to the emergence of complex forms in living and non-living matter as a result of growth. Using multimodal imaging data from many primate species across the phylogenetic tree, we study the emergence of brain organisation at multiple levels: the changes of the cerebral surface, cortical thickness patterns, and cortico-cortical connectivity. Our results suggest that mechanical morphogenesis could have a causal role in the formation of brain folding patterns, regional differences and connections. Finally, we show evidence that the same mechanical processes which shape the landscape of brain folds and connections could also influence cognitive behaviour.
