TNG

(Theoretical Neurosciences Group)

The Theoretical Neuroscience Group (TNG) has a long history. It has been founded in 1999 by Dr. Viktor Jirsa, originally based at the Center for Complex Systems and Brain Sciences at Florida Atlantic University, and then relocated to Aix-Marseille University in 2006. The objective of TNG is to gain a deeper understanding of the mechanisms underlying the emergence of brain function and dysfunction from brain network dynamics. For this purpose, we adopt a “multi-scale” approach using primarily mathematical and computational techniques. Our approach demands to understand the brain by binding in a single framework different resolution levels, and/or different time scales. This also demands to unify different points of view, from mathematical theory of complex systems toward computer-based numerical simulations (looking at the ensemble activity from the graph of elementary components) and behavioral studies. Our major interests are dedicated to understanding brain states including consciousness, behavioral representation in brain dynamics, and brain network disorders, in particular epilepsy, seen as the prototypical “dynamical disorder” (as a disorganization of the normal dynamical system). We seek to discover novel ways to modulate brain networks including stimulation, surgery and pharmaceutical interventions.

TNG TEAM

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TEAM LEAD

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Viktor JIRSA

Director of the Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, DR CNRS

EMAIL: viktor.jirsa@univ-amu.fr PHONE: +33 4 91 32 42 51

Originally trained in Theoretical Physics and Philosophy in the 1990s, Dr. Jirsa has made contributions to the understanding of how network structure constrains the emergence of functional dynamics using methods from nonlinear dynamic system theory and computational neuroscience. Dr. Jirsa has been awarded several international and national awards for his research including the Francois Erbsmann Prize in 2001, NASPSPA Early Career Distinguished Scholar Award in 2004, and Grand Prix de Recherche de Provence in 2018. He serves on various Editorial Boards and has published more than 150 scientific articles and book chapters, as well as co-edited several books including the Handbook of Brain Connectivity. Dr. Jirsa is one of the Lead Scientists in the Human Brain Project and The Virtual Brain.

TEAM MEMBERS

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Olivier BLIN | HDR

Sylvie BONIN-GUILLAUME | PU-PH (HDR)

Marcel CARRERE | MCU

Catherine CASSE-PERROT | Neuropsychologue

Borana DOLLOMAJA | Engineer

Elisabeth FRAUGER | PH

Florence GAILLARD-BIGOT | Neuropsychiatre

Gaetan GENTILE | MCU

Romain GUILHAUMOU | PH

Meysam HASHEMI | Postdoc

Elisabeth JOUVE | Ingénieur APHM

Farid KHELOUFI | PH

Joelle MICALLEF | PU-PH (HDR)

Spase PETKOSKI | Postdoc

Roland RIZOULIERE | MCU

Pierpaolo SORRENTINO | Postdoc

Jean-Didier Lemarechal | Postdoc

Jan Paul Triebkorn | Doctorant

Lisa Otten | Project Manager

Huifang WANG | IR2 Inserm

Marmaduke WOODMAN | IR2 AMU

Xavier ZENDJIDJIAN | PH

TNG PUBLICATIONS

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Wang, H. E., Triebkorn, P., Breyton, M., Dollomaja, B., Lemarechal, J.-D., Petkoski, S., Sorrentino, P., Depannemaecker, D., Hashemi, M., & Jirsa, V. K. (2024). Virtual brain twins: from basic neuroscience to clinical use. National Science Review, 11(5).

Saggio, M. L., & Jirsa, V. (2024). Bifurcations and bursting in the Epileptor. PLOS Computational Biology, 20(3), e1011903.

Hashemi, M., Ziaeemehr, A., Woodman, M. M., Fousek, J., Petkoski, S., & Jirsa, V. K. (2024). Simulation-based inference on virtual brain models of disorders. Machine Learning: Science and Technology, 5(3), 035019.

Sorrentino, P., Pathak, A., Ziaeemehr, A., Troisi Lopez, E., Cipriano, L., Romano, A., Sparaco, M., Quarantelli, M., Banerjee, A., Sorrentino, G., Jirsa, V., & Hashemi, M. (2024). The virtual multiple sclerosis patient. IScience, 27(7), 110101.

Jirsa, V., Wang, H., Triebkorn, P., Hashemi, M., Jha, J., Gonzalez-Martinez, J., Guye, M., Makhalova, J., & Bartolomei, F. (2023). Personalised virtual brain models in epilepsy. The Lancet Neurology, 22(5), 443–454.

Wang, H. E., Woodman, M., Triebkorn, P., Lemarechal, J.-D., Jha, J., Dollomaja, B., Vattikonda, A. N., Sip, V., Medina Villalon, S., Hashemi, M., Guye, M., Makhalova, J., Bartolomei, F., & Jirsa, V. (2023). Delineating epileptogenic networks using brain imaging data and personalized modeling in drug-resistant epilepsy. Science Translational Medicine, 15(680).

Sorrentino P, Rucco R, Lardone A, Liparoti M, Troisi Lopez E, Cavaliere C, Soricelli A, Jirsa V, Sorrentino G, Amico E. Clinical connectome fingerprints of cognitive decline. Neuroimage. 2021 Sep;238:118253.

Arbabyazd L, Shen K, Wang Z, Hofmann-Apitius M, Ritter P, McIntosh AR, Battaglia D, Jirsa V. Virtual Connectomic Datasets in Alzheimer’s Disease and Aging Using Whole-Brain Network Dynamics Modelling. eNeuro. 2021 Jul 6;8(4):ENEURO.0475-20.2021.

Sip V, Scholly J, Guye M, Bartolomei F, Jirsa V. Evidence for spreading seizure as a cause of theta-alpha activity electrographic pattern in stereo-EEG seizure recordings. PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Feb 26;17(2):e1008731.

Sip V, Hashemi M, Vattikonda AN, Woodman MM, Wang H, Scholly J, Medina Villalon S, Guye M, Bartolomei F, Jirsa VK. Data-driven method to infer the seizure propagation patterns in an epileptic brain from intracranial electroencephalography. PLoS Comput Biol. 2021 Feb 17;17(2):e1008689.

Wang HE, Scholly J, Triebkorn P, Sip V, Medina Villalon S, Woodman MM, Le Troter A, Guye M, Bartolomei F, Jirsa V. VEP atlas: An anatomic and functional human brain atlas dedicated to epilepsy patients. J Neurosci Methods. 2021 Jan 15;348:108983.

Lombardo D, Cassé-Perrot C, Ranjeva JP, Le Troter A, Guye M, Wirsich J, Payoux P, Bartrés-Faz D, Bordet R, Richardson JC, Felician O, Jirsa V, Blin O, Didic M, Battaglia D. Modular slowing of resting-state dynamic functional connectivity as a marker of cognitive dysfunction induced by sleep deprivation. Neuroimage. 2020 Nov 15;222:117155.

Battaglia D, Boudou T, Hansen ECA, Lombardo D, Chettouf S, Daffertshofer A, McIntosh AR, Zimmermann J, Ritter P, Jirsa V. Dynamic Functional Connectivity between order and randomness and its evolution across the human adult lifespan. Neuroimage. 2020 Nov 15;222:117156.

Spiegler A, Abadchi JK, Mohajerani M, Jirsa VK. In silico exploration of mouse brain dynamics by focal stimulation reflects the organization of functional networks and sensory processing. Netw Neurosci. 2020 Sep 1;4(3):807-851.

Hashemi M, Vattikonda AN, Sip V, Guye M, Bartolomei F, Woodman MM, Jirsa VK. The Bayesian Virtual Epileptic Patient: A probabilistic framework designed to infer the spatial map of epileptogenicity in a personalized large-scale brain model of epilepsy spread. Neuroimage. 2020 Aug 15;217:116839.

Saggio ML, Crisp D, Scott JM, Karoly P, Kuhlmann L, Nakatani M, Murai T, Dümpelmann M, Schulze-Bonhage A, Ikeda A, Cook M, Gliske SV, Lin J, Bernard C, Jirsa V, Stacey WC. A taxonomy of seizure dynamotypes. Elife. 2020 Jul 21;9:e55632.

Courtiol J, Guye M, Bartolomei F, Petkoski S, Jirsa VK. Dynamical Mechanisms of Interictal Resting-State Functional Connectivity in Epilepsy. J Neurosci. 2020 Jul 15;40(29):5572-5588.