Tom Mrsic-Flogel Explained

Tom Mrsic-Flogel
Education:B.A. Biological SciencesM.Sc. NeuroscienceD.Phil. Neuroscience
Alma Mater:Oxford University
Occupation:Professor of Neuroscience & Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre
Employer:University College London
Spouse:Sonja Hofer
Website:Mrsic-Flogel Lab

Tom Mrsic-Flogel is an experimental neuroscientist. He is Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre and a Professor in Neuroscience at University College London (UCL).[1] Mrsic-Flogel is a founding member of the International Brain Laboratory.[2]

Mrsic-Flogel’s research focuses on establishing mechanistic accounts of brain function, including how brain areas communicate and contribute to perception, cognition and learning.[3] [4] [5] His research has potential implications for psychiatric disorders such as autism and schizophrenia[6] and future applications in brain-computer interfaces (BCIs).[7] [8]

Education and career

Mrsic-Flogel received his undergraduate degree and PhD in 2001 from Oxford University. He completed postdoctoral work with Tobias Bonhoeffer at the Max Planck Institute of Neurobiology (since 2023 named Max Planck Institute for Biological Intelligence) in Munich. In 2007, he became Lecturer and Wellcome Trust Fellow at UCL, after which he was appointed as Professor at the University of Basel.[9]

Since 2016, Mrsic-Flogel has been Director of the Sainsbury Wellcome Centre for Neural Circuits and Behaviour, an independently-funded neuroscience institute (Gatsby Charitable Foundation and Wellcome) opened in 2014 and hosted by UCL.[10]

Research and work

Mrsic-Flogel is known for detailing the wiring principles of the brain’s networks and how these relate to their function.[11] His work has used new approaches to measure individual synaptic connections between brain cells of known function, and molecular anatomy tools, to show the extent of influence of individual neurons on the rest of the brain.[12]

Through his research in the visual cortex, Mrsic-Flogel discovered that synaptic connections are not organized randomly but are structured according to several specific wiring principles:

Mrsic-Flogel has demonstrated how the wiring of neural circuits is adjusted through experience and learning.[20] His work has shown how circuits are optimally tuned to the statistical regularities of the natural world[21] and how learning can further refine neural circuits in the adult brain.[22]

Mrsic-Flogel’s current lab studies how the brain makes decisions by combining sensory information with previously learned knowledge.[23] Research from the Mrsic-Flogel lab has revealed how visual working memory in mice is maintained across interconnected brain regions.[24]

Scientists in the Mrsic-Flogel lab have shed light on how the brain represents causally-controlled objects.[25] [26] More recently, the Mrsic-Flogel lab investigated how individual neurons in mice are influenced by two different cognitive and behavioural states – attention and running – that were once thought to share a common mechanism. They found that spatial attention and running influence neurons independently with different dynamics.[27] [28]

Awards

Memberships

References

  1. Web site: Tom Mrsic-Flogel . 29 Nov 2023 . www.sainsburywellcome.org.
  2. Web site: Our Team — International Brain Laboratory . 29 Nov 2023 . www.internationalbrainlab.com.
  3. Web site: Thomas Mrsic-Flogel – Google Scholar . 29 Nov 2023 . Google Scholar.
  4. News: Kelland . Kate . 11 April 2011 . Scientists unravel brain's complexity &rsaquo . News in Science (ABC Science) . 29 Nov 2023.
  5. Web site: Tom Mrsic-Flogel – Allen Institute . 29 Nov 2023 . www.alleninstitute.org.
  6. News: Makin . Simon . 30 Mar 2018 . "Bar Codes" Could Map Errant Brain Wiring in Autism and Schizophrenia . Scientific American . 29 Nov 2023.
  7. News: 23 Dec 2020 . Mice taught to guide computer mouse with brain activity . Engineering and Technology . 29 Nov 2023.
  8. News: Woodyatt . Amy . 3 Dec 2020 . Experimental brain implants in monkeys offer hope for restoring vision in blind people . CNN . 29 Nov 2023.
  9. Web site: Thomas Mrsic-Flogel . 30 Nov 2023 . www.simonsfoundation.org.
  10. News: 10 Oct 2016 . Sainsbury Wellcome Centre appoints new Director . UCL News . 30 Nov 2023.
  11. Ko . Ho . Hofer . Sonja B. . Pichler . Bruno . Buchanan . Katherine A. . Sjöström . P. Jesper . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2011 . Functional specificity of local synaptic connections in neocortical networks . Nature . 473 . 7345 . 87–91 . 10.1038/nature09880 . 1476-4687 . 3089591 . 21478872.
  12. Okun . Michael . Steinmetz . Nicholas . Cossell . Lee . Iacaruso . M. Florencia . Ko . Ho . Barthó . Péter . Moore . Tirin . Hofer . Sonja B. . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . Carandini . Matteo . Harris . Kenneth D. . 2015 . Diverse coupling of neurons to populations in sensory cortex . Nature . 521 . 7553 . 511–515 . 10.1038/nature14273 . 1476-4687 . 4449271 . 25849776.
  13. News: Lindsay . Grace . 8 Feb 2019 . Some Neurons Break the Fire-Together, Wire-Together Rule . Simons Foundation – Global Brain News . 1 Dec 2023.
  14. Web site: 8 Nov 2018 . Neurons that fire together, don't always wire together . 1 Dec 2023 . www.sainsburywellcome.org.
  15. Cossell . Lee . Iacaruso . Maria Florencia . Muir . Dylan R. . Houlton . Rachael . Sader . Elie N. . Ko . Ho . Hofer . Sonja B. . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2015 . Functional organization of excitatory synaptic strength in primary visual cortex . Nature . 518 . 7539 . 399–403 . 10.1038/nature14182 . 1476-4687 . 4843963 . 25652823.
  16. Web site: 5 Feb 2015 . The brain's social network: Nerve cells interact like friends on Facebook . 1 Dec 2023 . www.unibas.ch.
  17. Web site: Quality over Quantity: synaptic strength an important factor in neuronal relationships . 1 Dec 2023 . www.scientifica.uk.com.
  18. News: 29 Mar 2018 . New Barcode-Based Tracing Method Uncovers the Logic of Single Neuron Projections . Technology Networks . 1 Dec 2023.
  19. Han . Yunyun . Kebschull . Justus M. . Campbell . Robert A. A. . Cowan . Devon . Imhof . Fabia . Zador . Anthony M. . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2018 . The logic of single-cell projections from visual cortex . Nature . 556 . 7699 . 51–56 . 10.1038/nature26159 . 1476-4687 . 6585423 . 29590093.
  20. Poort . Jasper . Khan . Adil G. . Pachitariu . Marius . Nemri . Abdellatif . Orsolic . Ivana . Krupic . Julija . Bauza . Marius . Sahani . Maneesh . Keller . Georg B. . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . Hofer . Sonja B. . 2015 . Learning Enhances Sensory and Multiple Non-sensory Representations in Primary Visual Cortex . Neuron . 86 . 6 . 1478–1490 . 10.1016/j.neuron.2015.05.037 . 1097-4199 . 4503798 . 26051421.
  21. Pecka . Michael . Han . Yunyun . Sader . Elie . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2014 . Experience-dependent specialization of receptive field surround for selective coding of natural scenes . Neuron . 84 . 2 . 457–469 . 10.1016/j.neuron.2014.09.010 . 1097-4199 . 4210638 . 25263755.
  22. Web site: 21 May 2018 . Disentangling the interneuron web of learning . 1 Dec 2023 . www.sainsburywellcome.org.
  23. Web site: Mrsic-Flogel lab . 1 Dec 2023 . www.sainsburywellcome.org.
  24. Voitov . Ivan . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2022 . Cortical feedback loops bind distributed representations of working memory . Nature . 608 . 7922 . 381–389 . 10.1038/s41586-022-05014-3 . 1476-4687 . 9365695 . 35896749.
  25. Clancy . Kelly B. . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2021 . The sensory representation of causally controlled objects . Neuron . 109 . 4 . 677–689.e4 . 10.1016/j.neuron.2020.12.001 . 1097-4199 . 7889580 . 33357383.
  26. News: Berman . Robby . 23 Dec 2020 . Mice with brain-machine interfaces help scientists understand "intentional control" . Big Think . 1 Dec 2023.
  27. Kanamori . Takahiro . Mrsic-Flogel . Thomas D. . 2022 . Independent response modulation of visual cortical neurons by attentional and behavioral states . Neuron . 110 . 23 . 3907–3918.e6 . 10.1016/j.neuron.2022.08.028 . 1097-4199 . 36137550. free .
  28. Web site: 22 Sep 2022 . Attention and Running Influence Individual Brain Cells Independently . 1 Dec 2023 . www.technologynetworks.com.
  29. Web site: 10 Oct 2016 . Sainsbury Wellcome Centre appoints new Director . 8 Dec 2023 . www.ucl.ac.uk.
  30. Web site: Kaplan . Karen . 15 Feb 2012 . Funding: Got to get a grant . 8 Dec 2023 . www.nature.com.
  31. Web site: Dec 2011 . Support for the brightest minds . 8 Dec 2023 . wellcome.org.
  32. Web site: Assessment of Research Quality . 8 Dec 2023 . knaw.nl.
  33. Web site: Thomas Mrsic-Flogel . 8 Dec 2023 . www.fens.org.
  34. Web site: The Programme Committee . 8 Dec 2023 . www.fens.org.
  35. Web site: 19 Sep 2017 . Virtual brain lab brings together world-leading neuroscientists . 8 Dec 2023 . www.ucl.ac.uk.
  36. Web site: Tom Mrsic-Flogel Profile University College London . 8 Dec 2023 . ucl.ac.uk.
  37. Web site: ALBA team Alba Network . 8 Dec 2023 . www.alba.network.
  38. Web site: Sunposium 2017 . 8 Dec 2023 . www.maxplanckflorida.org.

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