Biological Networks

BarabásiLab. Hidden Patterns | Online discussion


[01.05.2021]


György Buzsáki, Korinna Allhoff, Alice Schwarze and Albert-László
Barabási in conversation


The exhibition »BarabásiLab. Hidden Patterns« is dedicated to the
study of various complex systems. As such, biological networks
provide the subject for this dialogue between Korinna Allhoff,
György Buzsáki, Alice Schwarze, and Albert-László Barabási who
give insights into their research and projects.


What are biological networks? Where can they be found? What do
they look like and what role do visualizations play in exploring
them? Four experts from network and neuroscience, biology, and
theoretical ecology will address these and other questions in the
panel discussion. In addition to neural and ecological networks,
it will focus on the interconnectedness of all species.


With over 100 billion nodes, the human brain is perhaps the most
complex network known to science. Neuroscientist György Buzsáki
first outlined the role of GABAergic interneurons in network
oscillations. He is primarily interested in »neuronal syntax,«
i.e., how the segmentation of neuronal information is organized
by the multitude of brain rhythms to support cognitive functions.
Methods of applied mathematics and network science can help in
the study of this complex system, as Alice Schwarze, PhD,
demonstrates with her research. The extraordinary complexity of
the brain's wiring patterns can also be seen in the
visualizations by Albert-László Barabási and his lab. The 3D
representations of the so-called »Connectome« open up new ways to
understand brain function.


Korinna Allhoff, on the other hand, conducts research in the
field of theoretical ecology and depicts ecosystems as networks
in which different species interact with each other. She
investigates the relationship between network structure and its
stability, as well as the effects of changing environmental
parameters, such as higher average temperatures.


The panel discussion aims to provide insight into the wealth of
existing biological networks, their modes of representation, and
the research approaches coupled to them.