Connectionists: Fwd: [seminar.wwtns] World wide VVTNS series (6th season): June 17 2026 | From microcircuits to cortex-wide networks: connectivity and information-flow underlying goal-directed behavior| Arseny Finkelstein, Tel Aviv University

[David Hansel]

[image: VVTNS.png]
https://www.wwtns.online
<https://streaklinks.com/A9c7PbbpKY7PxB6PaAJWGD3-/https%3A%2F%2Fwww.wwtns.online>
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on twitter: wwtns at TheoreticalWide

You are cordially invited to the lecture

Arseny Finkelstein
Tel Aviv University

on the topic of
>From microcircuits to cortex-wide networks:
connectivity and information-flow underlying goal-directed behavior

The lecture will be held on Zoom on June 17, 2026 at *11:00 am ET *


> To receive the link: https://www.wwtns.online/register-page
>

*Abstract: *Regulation of information flow in neuronal circuits is
fundamental to flexible, goal-directed behavior. In this talk, I will
discuss how cortical circuits organize neural activity and connectivity
across spatial scales, from local microcircuits to distributed cortex-wide
networks. Using naturalistic multidirectional reaching in mice, combined
with large-scale calcium imaging and causal connectivity mapping of
>20,000,000 neuronal pairs, we identified connectivity motifs and
population dynamics underlying goal-directed behavior. I will first
describe the organizational principles of the motor cortex, where neurons
are arranged into functional mini-columns with recurrent connectivity
motifs linked to task-related activity, and discuss the potential
computational advantages of this architecture. I will then show how these
principles extend to larger spatial scales. Imaging ~1,000,000 neurons
across 10 cortical regions revealed high-dimensional local population
activity patterns alongside coordinated cortex-wide dynamics mediated by
synchronized inter-areal communication. These distributed network dynamics
supported high-dimensional representations of short-term memory for target
location.  Together, these findings reveal how cortical networks are
organized across spatial scales to support cognition.

*About VVTNS : Launched as the World Wide  Theoretical Neuroscience Seminar
(WWTNS) in November 2020 and renamed in homage to Carl van Vreeswijk in
Memoriam (April 20, 2022), Speakers have the occasion to talk about
theoretical aspects of their work which cannot be discussed in a setting
where the majority of the audience consists of experimentalists. The
seminars, **held on Wednesdays at 11 am ET,**  are 45-50 min long followed
by a discussion. The talks are recorded with authorization of the speaker
and are available to everybody on our YouTube channel.*


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