UMBC CSEE Seminar Series

Resynchronization of circadian neurons and the east-west asymmetry of jet-lag recovery

Zhixin Lu
University of Maryland, College Park

1-2pm Friday, 21 April 2017, ITE 231

Cells in the brain’s Suprachiasmatic Nucleus (SCN) are known to regulate circadian rhythms in mammals. We model synchronization of SCN cells using the forced Kuramoto model, which consists of a large population of coupled phase oscillators (modeling individual SCN cells) with heterogeneous intrinsic frequencies and external periodic forcing. Here, the periodic forcing models diurnally varying external inputs such as sunrise, sunset, and alarm clocks. We reduce the dimensionality of the system using the ansatz of Ott and Antonsen and then study the effect of a sudden change of clock phase to simulate cross-time-zone travel. We estimate model parameters from previous biological experiments. By examining the phase space dynamics of the model, we study the mechanism leading to the difference typically experienced in the severity of jet-lag resulting from eastward and westward travel.

Zhixin Lu, PhD Candidate, joined the Nonlinear Dynamics and Chaos Group in the University of Maryland, College Park in 2011, as a Graduate Research Assistant in Dr. Edward Ott’s group. He acquired expertise in nonlinear dynamics and complex systems. Together with the colleagues from UMD, he used methods from nonlinear dynamics theory to investigate the synchronization of circadian neurons, the statistical properties of critical avalanching firing in integrate-and-fire neuron models, as well as dynamical behavior of artificial recurrent neuronal networks. His main research interests are the applications of nonlinear dynamics and the theory of complex networks to biological and artificial neural networks.

Host: Fow-Sen Choa; Organizer: Tulay Adali

About the CSEE Seminar Series: The UMBC Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering presents technical talks on current significant research projects of broad interest to the Department and the research community. Each talk is free and open to the public. We welcome your feedback and suggestions for future talks.

The post talk: Resynchronization of circadian neurons, 1pm Fri 4/21 appeared first on Department of Computer Science and Electrical Engineering.

This is Shirley.  She predicts that she will win the URCAD selfie contest.

"I'm really good at selfies," she noted. "I take them all the time.  I can't wait to get on that beautiful red carpet at URCAD!"

Upload your original photos to FaceBook and/or Twitter using #URCAD for a chance to win one of four gift cards to the UMBC Bookstore!

Categories:

• Best overall selfie: Take a photo with a UMBC celebrity (President Hrabowski, Provost Rous, Dean Stacey…) or get creative!
• Best with mentor
• Best with family member
• Best with student presentation/poster

The contest starts April 26, 2017 9:00 a.m. Upload photos by 4/28/17 at 6:00 p.m.

To be eligible to win the contest, you must follow the steps outlined below including uploading your original photo to FaceBook and/or Twitter using #URCAD.

Upload your selfie to #URCAD and be eligible to win a gift card from the UMBC Bookstore!

Categories include: Best selfie taken with your mentor, family member, or research poster/presentation.

Best Overall: Take a photo with a UMBC celebrity (President Hrabowski, Provost Rous, Dean Stacey…) or get creative!

Undergraduate Research and Creative Achievement Day (URCAD) features research, scholarship, and creative work carried out by UMBC undergraduates. Student work is shared through oral presentations, posters, artistic exhibits and performances, and film.

Over 250 presenters participate annually. Researchers work with faculty mentors on independent research, or research that is part of the mentor’s on-going projects.  They are from all disciplines, and can be working on a thesis, capstone project, part of a scholars or honors program, or they can be unaffiliated with other programs.

Students who have received Undergraduate Research Awards (URA) for the previous year will be presenting their findings. The UMBC Review, UMBC’s annual peer-reviewed research journal, which features academic papers written by UMBC undergraduates, makes its debut at this event- stop by and get your copy! Come hear the alumni keynote speaker talk about their experiences after UMBC, and how being an undergraduate researcher benefited them.

UMBC is unique in providing this opportunity for undergraduate students to conduct and present their research in a professional and supportive setting.  Students get valuable feedback from their peers, faculty, and staff, and practice their public speaking and presentations skills.  This campus-wide celebration of achievement affirms UMBC’s commitment to the twin goals of research and a distinctive undergraduate experience.