Events
Past Event
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Caterina Gratton, Northwestern Dept of Psychology "Functional Networks and Hubs in the Human Brain"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Caterina Gratton, Assistant Professor, Department of Psychology, Weinberg College of Arts and Sciences, Northwestern University
Title:
Functional Networks and Hubs in the Human Brain
Abstract:
The human brain is organized into large-scale networks, or systems, of interacting brain regions. These interactions can be measured in living humans with functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging (fMRI), by measuring correlations in the patterns of activity between different regions. Increasingly sophisticated techniques enable the mapping of brain networks at unprecedented levels of detail, but many questions still remain. In this presentation, I will tackle three recent studies that we have undertaken to better understand human functional brain networks and their contributions to brain function. In the first study, we examine whether the topology of brain networks – specifically, the presence of connector hub regions – is important for brain function, by examining the consequences of damage to these regions. In the second study, we examine the variability in brain networks within and across subjects at different time-scales. Finally, I will present on very recent work, looking in detail at the characteristics of individual differences in brain networks. Jointly, these studies suggest that network topology has important implications for human brain function, and that measures of network organization are stable features that can be used to measure trait-like variability in brain organization.
Speaker Bio:
Dr. Gratton is currently an Assistant Professor in the Psychology Department at Northwestern University, with a secondary appointment in the Department of Neurology and affiliations with the NUIN and the Cognitive Science Program. Dr. Gratton received her B.S. from the University of Illinois in Psychology and Neuroscience and her Ph.D. in Neuroscience from the University of California, Berkeley, where she worked with Mark D’Esposito and Michael Silver. Afterward, she was a postdoctoral fellow with Steve Petersen at Washington University in St. Louis. Dr. Gratton is interested in large-scale brain networks and how they give rise to complex human behaviors. Her research program seeks to characterize how human brain networks are organized, how they contribute to the myriad goal-directed behaviors that are essential to our daily lives, and how these processes break down with damage and disease. In her work, she employs a variety of methodologies, including functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and electroencephalography (EEG) to track the spatial and dynamic characteristics of brain activity, and transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS), recordings from patient populations, and pharmacological manipulations to study perturbations of brain systems.
Live Stream:
Time
Wednesday, April 3, 2019 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
WED@NICO SEMINAR: Blaise Aguera y Arcas, Google "Symbiogenesis, Computational Parallelism, and Complexity in Evolution"
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
12:00 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
Speaker:
Blaise Agüera y Arcas, VP/Fellow, CTO of Technology & Society, Google
Title:
Symbiogenesis, Computational Parallelism, and Complexity in Evolution
Abstract:
Symbiogenesis-- the fusion of formerly independent self-replicating entities into a larger self-replicating entity-- is proposed as the driving force behind evolution's "arrow of time" toward ever-increasing complexity. We'll explore an Artificial Life system as a minimal motivating example, then discuss the implications for biological evolution beyond the "standard" accounts of Major Evolutionary Transitions and "intelligence explosions" in brainy species. Energetic and computational implications will also be addressed.
Speaker Bio:
Blaise Agüera y Arcas is a VP and Fellow at Google, where he is the CTO of Technology & Society and founder of Paradigms of Intelligence (Pi). Pi is an organization working on fundamental research in AI and related fields, especially the foundations of neural computing, active inference, sociality, evolution, and Artificial Life.
In 2008, Blaise was awarded MIT’s TR35 prize. During his tenure at Google, Blaise has innovated on-device machine learning for Android and Pixel; invented Federated Learning, an approach to decentralized model training that avoids sharing private data; and founded the Artists + Machine Intelligence program.
An External Professor at Santa Fe Institute and a frequent public speaker, Blaise has given multiple TED talks and keynoted NeurIPS. He has also authored numerous papers, essays, op-eds, and chapters, as well as two previous books, Who Are We Now? and Ubi Sunt. His most recent book, What Is Life?, is part 1 of the larger book What Is Intelligence?, forthcoming from Antikythera and MIT Press in September 2025.
Location:
In person: Chambers Hall, 600 Foster Street, Lower Level
Remote option: https://northwestern.zoom.us/j/98741396308
Passcode: NICO25
About the Speaker Series:
Wednesdays@NICO is a vibrant weekly seminar series focusing broadly on the topics of complex systems, data science and network science. It brings together attendees ranging from graduate students to senior faculty who span all of the schools across Northwestern, from applied math to sociology to biology and every discipline in-between. Please visit: https://bit.ly/WedatNICO for information on future speakers.
Time
Wednesday, November 12, 2025 at 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - November 2025 - Speaker: Feihong Xu, ESAM
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:30 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
NOVEMBER MEETING: Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 5:30pm (US Central)
LOCATION:
In person: Chambers Hall, Lower Level
600 Foster Steet, Evanston Campus
AGENDA:
5:30pm - Meet and greet with refreshments
6:00pm - Talk with Feihong Xu, Amaral Lab, ESAM
Talk title and abstract TBA.
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly meetings featuring presentations and discussions about data-driven science and complex systems, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome! For more information: http://bit.ly/nico-dsn
Time
Thursday, November 20, 2025 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
Data Science Nights - December 2025 - Speaker: Yash Chainani, Chemical Engineering
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)
5:30 PM
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Lower Level, Chambers Hall
Details
DECEMBER MEETING: Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 5:30pm (US Central)
LOCATION:
In person: Chambers Hall, Lower Level
600 Foster Steet, Evanston Campus
AGENDA:
5:30pm - Meet and greet with refreshments
6:00pm - Talk with Yash Chainani, Broadbelt & Tyo Labs, Chemical Engineering
Talk title and abstract TBA.
DATA SCIENCE NIGHTS are monthly meetings featuring presentations and discussions about data-driven science and complex systems, organized by Northwestern University graduate students and scholars. Students and researchers of all levels are welcome! For more information: http://bit.ly/nico-dsn
Time
Thursday, December 18, 2025 at 5:30 PM - 7:30 PM
Location
Lower Level, Chambers Hall Map
Contact
Calendar
Northwestern Institute on Complex Systems (NICO)