Towards cross-species maps of brain organization
Differences in brain organization between humans and other primates are both a blessing and a curse for neuroscientists. Although they present us with welcome diversity in brain/behavior relationships to study, they impair the use of model species to understand our own brain. Regardless of one’s perspective, it is vital to map out and understand between-species differences in brain organization.

Comparative neuroscience traditionally employed very laborious techniques that are not feasible on a large scale or had to rely on gross anatomical data such as relative brain size. The advent of anatomical neuroimaging has changed this. In this talk, I will demonstrate our efforts to use measures of connectivity obtained using MRI to compare the organization of the human and non-human primate brain, focusing in particular on the macaque. I will show that, despite some reservations, we now have the tools to quantitatively compare brain organization quickly and reliably.
Date: 28 November 2017, 13:00 (Tuesday, 8th week, Michaelmas 2017)
Venue: Biology South Parks Road, South Parks Road OX1 3RB
Venue Details: Schlich Theatre
Speaker: Rogier Mars (University of Oxford)
Organising department: Department of Experimental Psychology
Organiser: Nils Kolling (Junior Research Fellow, Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford)
Organiser contact email address: nils.kolling@psy.ox.ac.uk
Host: Nils Kolling (Junior Research Fellow, Experimental Psychology, University of Oxford)
Booking required?: Not required
Audience: Members of the University only
Editor: Stephanie Mcclain