DEPARTMENT OF NEUROBIOLOGY

Specializations

Regions(s): Brain and Behavior; Systems Neuroscience

Research interest(s): Linking structure and function in neuronal networks; Cognitive tasks, learning and execution; Biomechanics and neuronal control

Research Summary

Broadly speaking, my research focuses on developing theoretical and computational frameworks to discover underlying biological principles and mechanisms behind sensory, motor, and cognitive tasks in neuroscience. I am currently involved in four main projects: (i) Trying to infer structural connectivity from functional activity in nonlinear neuronal networks. This project is designed to identify synaptic connections important for task-specific functions by combining biological constraints, candidate principles, and whole-brain imaging data available in certain model organisms. (ii) The second project aims to leverage connectomics data to identify mechanisms and principles behind how cognitive representations of continuous variables (such as heading direction) are realized in the brain. (iii) Another project aims to understand strategies behind complex behavioral tasks that have to incorporate laws of the natural world with biomechanical and sensory constraints (such as intercepting a moving ball). (iv) The last project involves developing a general model that can capture various gait patterns that animals exhibit during legged locomotion. In the process we hope to uncover the underlying biomechanical optimization principles and constraints that shape the observed gaits and gait transitions.

Selected Publications

• Biswas, T. and Fitzgerald, J.E., 2022. Geometric framework to predict structure from function in neural networks. Physical review research, 4(2), p.023255.
• Chun, C., Biswas, T. and Bhandawat, V., 2021. Drosophila uses a tripod gait across all walking speeds, and the geometry of the tripod is important for speed control. Elife, 10, p.e65878.
• Biswas T, Bishop WE, Fitzgerald J.E., 2020, Theoretical principles for illuminating sensorimotor processing with brain-wide neuronal recordings. Curr Opin Neurobiol 65:138- 145.
• Antoniak, G., Biswas, T., Cortes, N., Sikdar, S., Chun, C. and Bhandawat, V., 2019. Spring-loaded inverted pendulum goes through two contraction-extension cycles during the single-support phase of walking. Biology open, 8(6), p.bio043695.