We focus on understanding how neural circuits compute. We investigate these problems from a theoretical and conceptual perspective, and in collaboration with many experimental labs. Our starting point are spike trains recorded from populations of neurons in one or several brain areas, and our aim is to find first principles that can explain the observed neural activities, both from a functional and a mechanistic point of view. We apply dimensionality reduction techniques to the analysis of electrophysiological population data, and also develop our own (such as “demixed” PCA). We are also developing a theory of spiking neural networks (called “spike coding”), which provide a concise account of several generic electrophysiological observations, such as trial-to-trial variability, excitatory/inhibitory balance, and the robustness of neural systems against perturbations, including their partial destruction.
Main Interests
Formulating computational theories of neural circuits
Methods
Mathematical analysis, numerical simulations
Models and Regions
From fish to monkeys, from the hindbrain to the frontal lobes
AFFILIATION
Champalimaud Foundation
Champalimaud Centre for the Unknown
Avenida Brasília, 1400-038 Lisbon, Portugal
T (+351) 210 480 200
christian.machens(at)research.fchampalimaud.org
FUNDING
