vulnerability to mental illness
Network scientific approaches allow us to characterize the structure of the brain, and to understand the functional consequences of altered white matter connectivity in a whole-system context. Many neurodevelopmental and mental disorders are associated with specific patterns of network dysconnectivity. White matter connectivity can be conceptualized as the network backbone for brain activity to propagate. Mental illness can be understood, at least in part, as a propensity for the brain to linger longer than normal in states that are unhealthy, i.e. brain states related to thoughts and feelings of depression, anxiety, foggy cognition, and delusions. Some white matter network configurations may increase the propensity for activity to land and dwell in unhealthy, or damaging, states. We aim to characterize these network configurations in a highly personalized manner, to predict an individual's risk of developing various brain disorders, diseases, and mental illness - and ultimately, how to treat them.
publications
Maximizing brain networks engagement via individualized connectome-wide target search
Arianna Menardi, Davide Momi, Antonino Vallesi, Albert-László Barabási, Emma K. Towlson†, and Emiliano Santarnecchi†.†These authors contributed equally to this work.
Brain Stimulation, 2022, 15:1418-1431.
Multi-Subject Stochastic Blockmodels for Adaptive Analysis of Individual Differences in Human Brain Network Cluster Structure
Dragana M. Pavlović, Bryan Guillaume, Emma K. Towlson, Soroosh Afyouni, Petra E. Vértes, Thomas Yeo, Edward T. Bullmore, and Thomas E. Nichols.NeuroImage, 2020, 116611.
Brain Networks Reveal the Effects of Antipsychotic Drugs on Schizophrenia Patients and Controls
Emma K. Towlson, Petra E. Vértes, Ulrich Müller-Sedgwick, and Sebastian E. Ahnert.Front. Psychiatry, 2019, 10: 611.
Effect of antipsychotics on the community structure of brain functional networks
Ryan Flanagan, Lucas Lacasa, Emma K. Towlson, Sang Hoon Lee, and Mason A. Porter.Journal of Complex Networks, 2019, cnz013.
artwork
The Art of Science, Chinook Blast Festival 2021
Dr. Towlson partnered with student artist Camryn Carnell from Alberta University of the Arts for this project for the Chinook Blast festival. Camryn painted a mural inspired by network control in the brain in a business window in Downtown Calgary.conference contributions
Mental illness: Vulnerability and intervention
Talk at Network Science Meets Neuroscience, a salon meeting with thought leaders in Network Science and Neuroscience, The Kavli Foundation, Los Angeles (2022).Large scale human brain networks and brain disorders
Talk at the Turner Institute for Brain and Mental Health, Monash University (2022)Maximizing subnetwork engagement in the human brain via individualized target search and network control theory
Talk at Controlling Complex Networks satellite, NetSci, online (2021)Talk at Hotchkiss Brain Institute Research Day (2021)
Second edition of the Canadian Computational Neuroscience Spotlight, online (2021)
Department of Computer Science, University of Calgary (2021)
Understanding brain structure and function through the lens of network science
Department of Physics and Astronomy Colloquium Speaker Series, University of Calgary (2020)Women in Data Science conference, University of Calgary (2021)