{"id":1378,"date":"2026-09-10T20:18:11","date_gmt":"2026-09-10T20:18:11","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/cahbir\/?post_type=tribe_events&p=1378"},"modified":"2026-09-10T20:19:41","modified_gmt":"2026-09-10T20:19:41","slug":"neuroscience-seminar-series-for-rising-scholars-bhi-cahbir-trainee-seminar-9","status":"publish","type":"tribe_events","link":"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/cahbir\/event\/neuroscience-seminar-series-for-rising-scholars-bhi-cahbir-trainee-seminar-9\/","title":{"rendered":"Neuroscience Seminar Series for Rising Scholars (BHI-CAHBIR Trainee Seminar)"},"content":{"rendered":"

Reschedule: The upcoming seminar (information below) is at 12 pm on 9\/14 in SRB 127.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Speaker\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Li Xin Lim, Postdoctoral Associate<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Title\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

From cognitive demand to TMS perturbation: EEG markers of neural criticality<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Abstract\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

The critical brain hypothesis proposes that the brain operates near a transition point where excitation and inhibition are balanced, allowing neural activity to flexibly reorganize in response to changing demands. We use a time-resolved EEG measure of scale invariance,\u00a0d2\u00a0<\/em>to estimate distance from this critical regime: lower\u00a0d2<\/em>\u00a0indicates neural dynamics closer to criticality. We benchmark\u00a0d2<\/em>\u00a0using ground-truth simulations of a neural mass model and show that\u00a0d2<\/em>\u00a0is lowest when excitation and inhibition are balanced.\u00a0d2<\/em>\u00a0is then applied to a task-switching paradigm, showing more demanding trials shifted neural activity farther from criticality, whereas faster, more accurate, and more flexible behavior tended to occur closer to criticality. These relationships also differed across brain regions, suggesting that deviations from criticality can reflect both cognitive effort and adaptive control. Because excitation-inhibition balance is thought to govern proximity to criticality, a key next question is whether experimentally perturbing cortical excitability changes critical dynamics and behavior. Transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) offers a noninvasive means to test this proposed causal mechanism. Participants received continuous theta-burst stimulation (cTBS; inhibitory), intermittent theta-burst stimulation (iTBS; excitatory), and sham stimulation in three separate sessions. Relative to sham, iTBS is associated with lower post-stimulation resting-stated2<\/em>, consistent with a shift toward criticality. During a memory-guided saccade task, cTBS increases\u00a0d2<\/em>\u00a0across fixations, visually guided-, and memory-guided saccade periods, indicating a shift away from criticality; it also reduces memory-guided saccade velocity. These findings suggest that theta-burst stimulation can differentially reshape neural criticality, with consequences for cognitive control and memory-guided behavior.<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

<\/strong><\/p>\n

Join via zoom:\u00a0<\/strong><\/p>\n

Email me for the link or check the CAHBIR or Network Neuroscience Slack #general threads<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

All my best,<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Noelle<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

Noelle Stiles
\nAssistant Professor
\nCenter for Advanced Human Brain\u00a0Imaging\u00a0Research in the Brain\u00a0Health Institute
\nDepartment of Neurology in the\u00a0Robert Wood\u00a0Johnson Medical\u00a0School
\nDepartment of Ophthalmology and\u00a0Visual Science\u00a0in the New Jersey\u00a0Medical School<\/p>\n

Department of Biomedical Engineering in the School of Engineering<\/p>\n

Graduate Program in\u00a0Neuroscience
\nRutgers University
\nnoelle.stiles@rutgers.edu<\/a>
\nWebsite:\u00a0http:\/\/www.stileslab.com\/<\/a><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Reschedule: The upcoming seminar (information below) is at 12 pm on 9\/14 in SRB 127.   Speaker\u00a0 Li Xin Lim, Postdoctoral Associate   Title\u00a0 From cognitive demand to TMS perturbation: … Read More<\/a><\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3783,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","template":"","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_tribe_events_status":"","_tribe_events_status_reason":"","footnotes":""},"tags":[],"tribe_events_cat":[],"class_list":["post-1378","tribe_events","type-tribe_events","status-publish","hentry"],"acf":[],"yoast_head":"\nNeuroscience Seminar Series for Rising Scholars (BHI-CAHBIR Trainee Seminar) - Center for Advanced Human Brain Imaging Research<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/sites.rutgers.edu\/cahbir\/event\/neuroscience-seminar-series-for-rising-scholars-bhi-cahbir-trainee-seminar-9\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Neuroscience Seminar Series for Rising Scholars (BHI-CAHBIR Trainee Seminar) - 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