Axon radius and extra-axonal volume fraction are fundamental descriptors of white matter microstructure, critically shaping conduction velocity and the efficiency of neural communication. Although existing diffusion MRI models have attempted to estimate these parameters, their limited sensitivity and constrained assumptions often result in unstable and biased estimates. Such bias typically...
While many mechanisms have been proposed to drive Alzheimer’s disease, particularly the accumulation of amyloid plaques and hyperphosphorylation of tau proteins, emerging evidence suggests that they may be the byproducts of earlier damage rather than initiating events. Instead, metabolic dysfunction and the inability of neural cells to support their energetic demands may be a more plausible...
The outermost layer of the brain’s surface, the cerebral cortex, consists of gyri (hills) and sulci (valleys). In humans, cortical folding begins around the 16th week of gestation, and the most obvious cortical folding changes occur during the 26th week of gestation. The mechanism by which the folding pattern develops remains unknown; however, several hypotheses suggest that cortical folding...
Turing pattern formation has been used to model many biological patterns including animal coat, fish, and butterfly patterns. We apply a Turing reaction-diffusion system to a prolate spheroid domain representing the developing cortex, to study cortical folding pattern formation. The brain's cerebral cortex has complex folds with hills (gyri) and valleys (sulci). While the mechanism for the...
Neural systems depend on both cellular mechanisms and organization to execute functioning in the brain. Understanding these processes requires bridging the gap across cellular and organismal levels. This minisymposium explores mechanisms that contribute to brain physiology and regulation, from the micro to the macro, using novel mathematical modeling approaches. By presenting research...
