Tawan T. A. Carvalho

  • reward
  • aversion
  • nucleus accumbens
  • subsampling
  • neuronal avalanches
  • brain criticality
  • scaling relations

I have a bachelors in Physics from the Federal University of Piauí/UFPI (2016) and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Graduate Program in Physics from the Federal University of Pernambuco/UFPE (2021). I have experience in Physics, with an emphasis on Experimental Statistical Physics (fractals, fluids, and fluid retention). Currently, I have been working in ​​Theoretical Statistical Physics, working in Computational Neuroscience. In my Ph.D. thesis, I studied how the activity of neuron network models that operate in the active-absorbent phase transition is affected when the data are subsampled. The subsampled results showed an apparent behavior of an oscillating transition as seen in recent results from urethane-anesthetized rats. In addition, it was possible to estimate the distance that the experimental data are from criticality, which is up to 3% around the critical point of the evaluated models. The results show robustness in the face of sophisticated scaling relations criteria, contributing to the theoretical and computational study of the critical brain hypothesis. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Ana João’s group (ICVS) where I will model and analyze data from electrophysiological records of large neuronal populations, as well as calcium imaging data.

Tawan T. A. Carvalho

  • reward
  • aversion
  • nucleus accumbens
  • subsampling
  • neuronal avalanches
  • brain criticality
  • scaling relations

I have a bachelors in Physics from the Federal University of Piauí/UFPI (2016) and a Ph.D. in Physics from the Graduate Program in Physics from the Federal University of Pernambuco/UFPE (2021). I have experience in Physics, with an emphasis on Experimental Statistical Physics (fractals, fluids, and fluid retention). Currently, I have been working in ​​Theoretical Statistical Physics, working in Computational Neuroscience. In my Ph.D. thesis, I studied how the activity of neuron network models that operate in the active-absorbent phase transition is affected when the data are subsampled. The subsampled results showed an apparent behavior of an oscillating transition as seen in recent results from urethane-anesthetized rats. In addition, it was possible to estimate the distance that the experimental data are from criticality, which is up to 3% around the critical point of the evaluated models. The results show robustness in the face of sophisticated scaling relations criteria, contributing to the theoretical and computational study of the critical brain hypothesis. I am currently a postdoctoral researcher in Ana João’s group (ICVS) where I will model and analyze data from electrophysiological records of large neuronal populations, as well as calcium imaging data.

Scientific Highlights

(1) T. T. A. Carvalho, A. J. Fontenele, M. Girardi-Schappo, T. Feliciano, L. A. Aguiar, T. P. Silva, N. A. de Vasconcelos, P. V. Carelli and M. Copelli, “Subsampled directed-percolation models explain scaling relations experimentally observed in the brain”, Front. Neural Circuits, vol. 14, p. 83, 2021.
(2) M. Girardi-Schappo, L. Brochini, A. A. Costa, T. T. A. Carvalho, and O. Kinouchi, “Synaptic balance due to homeostatically self-organized quasicritical dynamics”, Phys. Rev. Research, vol. 2, p. 012042(R), 2020.
(3)N. Lotfi, T. Feliciano, L. A. A. Aguiar, T. P. L. Silva, T. T. A. Carvalho, O. A. Rosso, M. Copelli, F. S. Matias, and P. V. Carelli, “Statistical complexity is maximized close to criticality in cortical dynamics”, Phys. Rev. E, vol. 103, p.012415, 2021.
(4)T. T. A. Carvalho, L. B. Domingos , R. O. Shimoura, N. L. Kamiji, V. L. Cordeiro, M. Copelli and A. C. Roque, “[Re] Context-Dependent Encoding of Fear and Extinction Memories in a Large-Scale Network Model of the Basal Amygdala”, ReScience, vol. 7, 2021.
(5) M. Girardi-Schappo, E. F. Galera, T. T. A. Carvalho, L. Brochini, N. L. Kamiji, A. C. Roque, O. Kinouchi, “A unified theory of E/I synaptic balance, quasicritical neuronal avalanches and asynchronous irregular spiking”, Journal of Physics: Complexity, vol. 2, p. 045001, 2021.

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Brainstem orchestration of cue-reward associations

The brain constantly integrates new sensory information, and associates environmental cues to outcomes, adjusting behavior to maximize reward and minimize unpleasant consequences. This process is critical for survival, and its dysregulation is a hallmark of…

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Sensory signals of associative learning

Through evolution, animals gained the remarkable ability to respond with sub second precision to environmental stimuli and to learn to associate those with positive or negative outcomes…

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