Dr. Loh Kep Kee

Bridging brains across individuals and species using cortical folding patterns

20 September 2022 (Tuesday), 4pm

Abstract:

Brains differ substantially from one individual to another, and even more so across species. This variability makes it challenging to establish reliable structure-function relationships in different brains. In this talk, I will speak about how cortical folding patterns can provide a meaningful way to bridge brains across individuals and species. First, I will discuss my doctoral research where we revealed robust relationships between cortical folds and functional brain activations in the frontal cortex. Next, I will discuss a novel computational method developed during my postdoctoral research that allows the mapping of cortical surfaces across individuals and different primate species on the basis of cortical folding patterns.

Biography:

I am an NUS Overseas Postdoctoral Fellow based at the Montréal Neurological Institute and the University of Oxford. I am interested in what makes the human brain special compared to other primates. To answer this question, I study the anatomical organization of brains across humans and various primate species to reveal the ways they are similar, and different from one another. I employ a combination of magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) and histological approaches in my research. I believe that a multimodal approach is crucial in providing an integrative and holistic view of what sets our brains apart from other primates.