Conference: 2019 Organization for Human Brain Mapping Annual Meeting, June 9–13, Rome, Italy.
Conference Highlight: The 2019 Organization for Human Brain Mapping (OHBM) conference provided a vast spectrum of international research across modalities in human brain mapping.
Conference Summary: The OHBM congress is dedicated to advancing the understanding of the anatomical and functional structure of the brain and promoting its medical applications. This year’s programming offered a diverse array of presentations discussing major themes in neuroimaging science such as mapping sensation perception, neurofeedback and neuromodulation, multivariate analysis and network modeling and more. OHBM 2019 also featured interesting software demonstrations.
One highlight was the clinical neuroimaging symposiums. Speakers described state-of-the-art imaging measures for clinical research of mental disorders and several innovative analytical methods which can be applied to such measures, including normative modeling and machine/deep learning.
There were many computational (i.e., machine learning and graph theory) and dynamic functional connectivity concepts applied in different fields. A keynote lecture by Dr. T. Yeo, Assistant Professor at the National University of Singapore, introduced the concept of generative models and how they can be powerful tools for estimating brain parcellations and brain dynamics. Dr. A. Kucyi, a Research Scientist with Northeastern University, gave an excellent talk on intrinsic networks and their dynamics at various time scales, showing clear links among the modalities of iEEG/sEEG/ECoG, fMRI, MEG and EEG. Moreover, there were several posters and talks which highlighted interspecies/potential evolutionary mechanisms. For example, brain folding changes a lot across primates: some have almost no folds, some have super-folded brains; it’s not, however, just the amount of folding, but the pattern of these folds that changes.
Another highlight was the importance of open access data. The members of the OHBM open science special interest group presented their views on what open science means today, where it’s headed and how it offers the potential to improve science through open and inclusive practices.
OHBM 2019 did not fail to impress. Attendees had the opportunity to learn from brilliant researchers and physicians who are dedicated to enhancing the quality of patients’ treatment.