PhD defense: Janus Rønn Lind Kobbersmed

Janus Rønn Lind Kobbersmed
Title: "Whole-brain normative models of functional connectivity from fMRI and electrophysiology"

About the thesis:

How does the communication between brain areas change with age? And can deviations from healthy brain aging, when considering the brain as a whole, be used as an indicator of brain disorders? These questions are investigated in a new PhD project at Aarhus University, Health.

Studies using functional MRI (fMRI) and magneto- and electroencephalography (M/EEG) have shown that a broad range of neurological and psychiatric diseases are associated with measurable alterations in brain function. Even for diseases that originate from changes in a specific part of the brain, the effects on communication between brain regions often extend across larger networks. Furthermore, patients with the same diagnosis can have very different symptoms and disease trajectories, and many conditions are described on a spectrum rather than with clearly defined diagnostic groups. This complexity complicates the search for measurable markers that can identify and characterize brain diseases.

A possible approach to this problem is the use of normative models, "growth charts", of brain function. Just as growth charts of children's height and weight can show what is expected for a child of a given age and sex, these models describe the expected brain function of an individual. This makes it possible to identify individuals whose brain function deviates from the expected. In the project, a new approach to such models is developed for fMRI and MEG, where, unlike earlier models, the whole brain is taken into account. Based on fMRI scans from 48,000 healthy subjects, the models revealed, among other findings, measurable deviations in brain function in individuals who were diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease several years after their scan. In subjects with bipolar disorder, the analyses revealed two groups with different patterns of deviations in brain function. These findings demonstrate the potential of the models to identify and characterize deviations in brain function and may, in the long term, contribute to a more individualized characterization of brain diseases.

Assessment committee:

• Associate Professor Andrea Moreno Department of Biomedicine, Aarhus University, Aarhus, Denmark (chair of the committee)
• Associate Professor Christopher R. Butler Imperial College London, The George Institute for Global Health, London, United Kingdom
• Professor Morten Mørup Department of Applied Mathematics and Computer Science, Technical University of Denmark, Lyngby, Denmark 

ALL ARE WELCOME

After the defense CFIN is hosting a small reception in the pavilion, 
CFIN South, building 1710, Universitetsbyen 3, 8000 Aarhus C.

Contact

PhD student Janus Rønn Lind Kobbersmed
Mail: januslind@gmail.com
Phone: +45 50573708