The computational neuroscience unit at the CRM was founded in 2012 and is made up of three Principal Investigators (Alex Roxin, Klaus Wimmer and Alex Hyafil) and their groups. The unit is an active member of a larger, Barcelona-wide Neuroscience community which includes theoretical, experimental and clinical groups located in a variety of university departments and research centers (www.barccsyn.org). Research in the computational neuroscience unit is largely focused on systems-level neuroscience. Broadly speaking, this involves investigating how large assemblies of interacting neurons give rise to animal and human behavior. Our approach is generally to combine computational modeling with data analysis.
Research Lines
The research focus in the group of Alex Roxin is on dynamical and network mechanisms in systems neuroscience. We model cognitive processes such as long-term memory formation and decision making, but also study the dynamical repertoire of neuronal networks more generally.
Research in the group of Klaus Wimmer focuses on the neural network dynamics underlying perceptual decision making and working memory, with the general aim of understanding the neural mechanisms underlying elementary cognitive functions.
The group led by Alex Hyafil has started in 2019, with an interest in understanding the core computations that underlie perception, decision-making and cognitive control in humans and mammals in general.
TEAM LEADERS
PUBLICATIONS
| Roxin, A. (2022). Notes on Meanfield Models for Spiking Networks for CIRM Course, March 2022. |
LINK |
| da Fonseca, M., Maffei, G., Moreno-Bote, R., & Hyafil, A. (2022). Mood and implicit confidence independently fluctuate at different time scales. Cognitive, Affective, & Behavioral Neuroscience, 1-20. | LINK |
| Devalle, F., & Roxin, A. (2022). Fluctuation-driven plasticity allows for flexible rewiring of neuronal assemblies. arXiv preprint arXiv:2203.04641. |
LINK |
| Devalle, F., & Roxin, A. (2022). Network mechanisms underlying representational drift in area CA1 of hippocampus. bioRxiv. | LINK |
| Baumard, N., Huillery, E., Hyafil, A., & Safra, L. (2022). The cultural evolution of love in literary history. Nature Human Behaviour, 6(4), 506-522. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A., & Moriña, D. (2022). Analysis of the impact of lockdown on the reproduction number of the SARS-Cov-2 in Spain. Gaceta sanitaria, 35, 453-458. | LINK |
| Esnaola-Acebes, Jose M., Alex Roxin, and Klaus Wimmer. Flexible integration of continuous sensory evidence in perceptual estimation tasks. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences 119.45 (2022): e2214441119. | LINK |
| Scott, H., Wimmer, K., Pasternak, T., & Snyder, A. C. (2022). Altered Task Demands Lead to a Division of Labor for Sensory and Cognitive Processing in MT. bioRxiv, 2021-12. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A., de la Rocha, J., Pericas, C., Katz, L. N., Huk, A. C., & Pillow, J. W. (2022). Temporal integration is a robust feature of perceptual decisions. bioRxiv. | LINK |
| Prat-Ortega, G., Wimmer, K., Roxin, A., & de la Rocha, J. (2021). Flexible categorization in perceptual decision making. Nature communications, 12(1), 1-15. | LINK |
| da Fonseca, M., Maffei, G., Moreno-Bote, R., & Hyafil, A. (2021). Emotional states and self-confidence independently fluctuate at different time scales. | LINK |
| van Viegen, T., Akrami, A., Bonnen, K., DeWitt, E., Hyafil, A., Ledmyr, H., … & Peters, M. A. (2021). Neuromatch Academy: Teaching computational neuroscience with global accessibility. Trends in cognitive sciences, 25(7), 535-538. |
LINK |
| Hernández-Navarro, L., Hermoso-Mendizabal, A., Duque, D., de la Rocha, J., & Hyafil, A. (2021). Proactive and reactive accumulation-to-bound processes compete during perceptual decisions. Nature Communications, 12(1), 1-15. | LINK |
| Esnaola-Acebes, Jose M., Alex Roxin, and Klaus Wimmer. Bump attractor dynamics underlying stimulus integration in perceptual estimation tasks. BioRxiv (2021). | LINK |
| Hermoso-Mendizabal, A., Hyafil, A., Rueda-Orozco, P. E., Jaramillo, S., Robbe, D., & De la Rocha, J. (2020). Response outcomes gate the impact of expectations on perceptual decisions. Nature communications, 11(1), 1-13. |
LINK |
| Adam, V., & Hyafil, A. (2020). Non-linear regression models for behavioral and neural data analysis. arXiv preprint arXiv:2002.00920. |
LINK |
| Hernández-Navarro, L., Hermoso-Mendizabal, A., Duque, D., Hyafil, A., & de la Rocha, J. (2020). Sensory evidence integration and action initiation occur in parallel during perceptual decisions. |
LINK |
| Loyola-Navarro, R., Moënne-Loccoz, C., Vergara, R. C., Hyafil, A., Aboitiz, F., & Maldonado, P. E. (2020). Agency improves working memory and accelerates visual and attentional processing. BioRxiv. |
LINK |
| Malone, P. S., Eberhardt, S. P., Wimmer, K., Sprouse, C., Klein, R., Glomb, K., … & Riesenhuber, M. (2019). Neural mechanisms of vibrotactile categorization. Human brain mapping, 40(10), 3078-3090. | LINK |
| Schustek, P., Hyafil, A., & Moreno-Bote, R. (2019). Human confidence judgments reflect reliability-based hierarchical integration of contextual information. Nature communications, 10(1), 1-15. | LINK |
| Pietras, B., Devalle, F., Roxin, A., Daffertshofer, A., & Montbrió, E. (2019). Exact firing rate model reveals the differential effects of chemical versus electrical synapses in spiking networks. Physical Review E, 100(4), 042412. | LINK |
| Roxin, Alex. Drift–diffusion models for multiple-alternative forced-choice decision making. The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience 9.1 (2019): 1-23. | LINK |
| Theodoni, P., Rovira, B., Wang, Y., & Roxin, A. (2018). Theta-modulation drives the emergence of connectivity patterns underlying replay in a network model of place cells. Elife, 7, e37388. | LINK |
| Cernak, M., Asaei, A., & Hyafil, A. (2018). Cognitive speech coding: examining the impact of cognitive speech processing on speech compression. IEEE Signal Processing Magazine, 35(3), 97-109. |
LINK |
| Schmidt, H., Avitabile, D., Montbrió, E., & Roxin, A. (2018). Network mechanisms underlying the role of oscillations in cognitive tasks. PLoS computational biology, 14(9), e1006430. |
LINK |
| Esnaola-Acebes, J. M., Roxin, A., Avitabile, D., & Montbrió, E. (2017). Synchrony-induced modes of oscillation of a neural field model. Physical Review E, 96(5), 052407. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A. (2017). Disharmony in neural oscillations. Journal of Neurophysiology, 118(1), 1-3. |
LINK |
| Jercog, D., Roxin, A., Bartho, P., Luczak, A., Compte, A., & de la Rocha, J. (2017). UP-DOWN cortical dynamics reflect state transitions in a bistable network. Elife, 6, e22425. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A., & Moreno-Bote, R. (2017). Breaking down hierarchies of decision-making in primates. Elife, 6, e16650. |
LINK |
| Vegué, M., Perin, R., & Roxin, A. (2017). On the structure of cortical microcircuits inferred from small sample sizes. Journal of Neuroscience, 37(35), 8498-8510. | LINK |
| Nykamp, D. Q., Friedman, D., Shaker, S., Shinn, M., Vella, M., Compte, A., & Roxin, A. (2017). Mean-field equations for neuronal networks with arbitrary degree distributions. Physical Review E, 95(4), 042323. | LINK |
| Ramirez-Mahaluf, J. P., Roxin, A., Mayberg, H. S., & Compte, A. (2017). A computational model of major depression: the role of glutamate dysfunction on cingulo-frontal network dynamics. Cerebral Cortex, 27(1), 660-679. |
LINK |
| Roxin, A., & Compte, A. (2016). Oscillations in the bistable regime of neuronal networks. Physical Review E, 94(1), 012410. | LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Ramon, M., Pasternak, T., & Compte, A. (2016). Transitions between multiband oscillatory patterns characterize memory-guided perceptual decisions in prefrontal circuits. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(2), 489-505. | LINK |
| Sisan, T. B., Yi, T., Roxin, A., & Lichter, S. (2016). Liquid slip at the molecular scale. In Handbook of Nanophysics: Nanoparticles and Quantum Dots. CRC Press. |
LINK |
| Hyafil, A., & Koechlin, E. (2016). A neurocomputational model of human frontopolar cortex function. bioRxiv, 037150. |
LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Spinelli, P., & Pasternak, T. (2016). Prefrontal neurons represent motion signals from across the visual field but for memory-guided comparisons depend on neurons providing these signals. Journal of Neuroscience, 36(36), 9351-9364. | LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Compte, A., Roxin, A., Peixoto, D., Renart, A., & De La Rocha, J. (2015). Sensory integration dynamics in a hierarchical network explains choice probabilities in cortical area MT. Nature communications, 6(1), 1-13. | LINK |
| Baumard, N., Hyafil, A., Morris, I., & Boyer, P. (2015). Increased affluence explains the emergence of ascetic wisdoms and moralizing religions. Current Biology, 25(1), 10-15. |
LINK |
| Hyafil, A., Giraud, A. L., Fontolan, L., & Gutkin, B. (2015). Neural cross-frequency coupling: connecting architectures, mechanisms, and functions. Trends in neurosciences, 38(11), 725-740. |
LINK |
| Hyafil, A. (2015). Misidentifications of specific forms of cross-frequency coupling: three warnings. Frontiers in neuroscience, 9, 370. |
LINK |
| Montbrió, E., Pazó, D., & Roxin, A. (2015). Macroscopic description for networks of spiking neurons. Physical Review X, 5(2), 021028. | LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Compte, A., Roxin, A., Peixoto, D., Renart, A., & De La Rocha, J. (2015). Sensory integration dynamics in a hierarchical network explains choice probabilities in cortical area MT. Nature communications, 6(1), 1-13. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A., & Cernak, M. (2015). Neuromorphic based oscillatory device for incremental syllable boundary detection (No. REP_WORK). Idiap. |
LINK |
| Hyafil, A., Fontolan, L., Kabdebon, C., Gutkin, B., & Giraud, A. L. (2015). Speech encoding by coupled cortical theta and gamma oscillations. Elife, 4, e06213. |
LINK |
| Baumard, N., Hyafil, A., & Boyer, P. (2015). What changed during the axial age: Cognitive styles or reward systems?. Communicative & integrative biology, 8(5), e1046657. |
LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Nykamp, D. Q., Constantinidis, C., & Compte, A. (2014). Bump attractor dynamics in prefrontal cortex explains behavioral precision in spatial working memory. Nature neuroscience, 17(3), 431-439. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., & Fusi, S. (2013). Efficient partitioning of memory systems and its importance for memory consolidation. PLoS computational biology, 9(7), e1003146. | LINK |
| Fontolan, L., Krupa, M., Hyafil, A., & Gutkin, B. (2013). Analytical insights on theta-gamma coupled neural oscillators. The Journal of Mathematical Neuroscience, 3(1), 1-20. |
LINK |
| Roxin, A., Brunel, N., Hansel, D., Mongillo, G., & van Vreeswijk, C. (2011). On the distribution of firing rates in networks of cortical neurons. Journal of Neuroscience, 31(45), 16217-16226. | LINK |
| Roxin, A. (2011). The role of degree distribution in shaping the dynamics in networks of sparsely connected spiking neurons. Frontiers in computational neuroscience, 5, 8. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., & Montbrió, E. (2011). How effective delays shape oscillatory dynamics in neuronal networks. Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, 240(3), 323-345. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A., Gutkin, B., & Giraud, A. L. (2011). A theoretical exploration of speech/neural oscillation alignment for speech parsing. In Front. Hum. Neurosci. Conference Abstract: XI International Conference on Cognitive Neuroscience (ICON XI). |
LINK |
| Stimberg, M., Wimmer, K., Martin, R., Schwabe, L., Marino, J., Schummers, J., … & Obermayer, K. (2009). The operating regime of local computations in primary visual cortex. Cerebral Cortex, 19(9), 2166-2180. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A., Summerfield, C., & Koechlin, E. (2009). Two mechanisms for task switching in the prefrontal cortex. Journal of Neuroscience, 29(16), 5135-5142. |
LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Stimberg, M., Martin, R., Schwabe, L., Mariño, J., Schummers, J., … & Obermayer, K. (2008). Dependence of orientation tuning on recurrent excitation and inhibition in a network model of V1. Advances in Neural Information Processing Systems, 21. | LINK |
| Wimmer, K., Hildebrandt, K. J., Hennig, R. M., & Obermayer, K. (2008). Adaptation and selective information transmission in the cricket auditory neuron AN2. PLoS Computational Biology, 4(9), e1000182. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., Hakim, V., & Brunel, N. (2008). The statistics of repeating patterns of cortical activity can be reproduced by a model network of stochastic binary neurons. Journal of neuroscience, 28(42), 10734-10745. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., & Ledberg, A. (2008). Neurobiological models of two-choice decision making can be reduced to a one-dimensional nonlinear diffusion equation. PLoS Computational Biology, 4(3), e1000046. | LINK |
| Martini, A., Roxin, A., Snurr, R. Q., Wang, Q., & Lichter, S. (2008). Molecular mechanisms of liquid slip. Journal of Fluid Mechanics, 600, 257-269. | LINK |
| Hyafil, A. (2008). Du lien entre flexibilité cognitive et motivation dans le cortex préfrontal humain (Doctoral dissertation, Paris 6). |
LINK |
| Riecke, H., Roxin, A., Madruga, S., & Solla, S. A. (2007). Multiple attractors, long chaotic transients, and failure in small-world networks of excitable neurons. Chaos: An Interdisciplinary Journal of Nonlinear Science, 17(2), 026110. | LINK |
| Schummers, J., Cronin, B., Wimmer, K., Stimberg, M., Martin, R., Obermayer, K. H., … & Sur, M. (2007). Dynamics of orientation tuning in cat V1 neurons depend on location within layers and orientation maps. Frontiers in neuroscience, 1, 11. | LINK |
| Koechlin, E., & Hyafil, A. (2007). Anterior prefrontal function and the limits of human decision-making. Science, 318(5850), 594-598. |
LINK |
| Roxin, A., Brunel, N., & Hansel, D. (2006). Methods in Neuronal Modeling Methods in Neuronal Modeling, 1998. Progress of theoretical physics. Supplement, 161, 68-85. | LINK |
| Jarsky, T., Roxin, A., Kath, W. L., & Spruston, N. (2005). Conditional dendritic spike propagation following distal synaptic activation of hippocampal CA1 pyramidal neurons. Nature neuroscience, 8(12), 1667-1676. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., Brunel, N., & Hansel, D. (2005). Role of delays in shaping spatiotemporal dynamics of neuronal activity in large networks. Physical review letters, 94(23), 238103. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., Riecke, H., & Solla, S. A. (2004). Self-sustained activity in a small-world network of excitable neurons. Physical review letters, 92(19), 198101. | LINK |
| Lichter, S., Roxin, A., & Mandre, S. (2004). Mechanisms for liquid slip at solid surfaces. Physical review letters, 93(8), 086001. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., & Riecke, H. (2002). Rotating convection in an anisotropic system. Physical Review E, 65(4), 046219. | LINK |
| Roxin, A., & Riecke, H. (2001). Destabilization and localization of traveling waves by an advected field. Physica D: Nonlinear Phenomena, 156(1-2), 19-38. | LINK |
