Brain Connectivity Workshop 2023
Creators: name: Wefelmeyer, Winnie
name: Trust, The Wellcome
Publisher: name: F1000 Research Limited
Year: 2024

description: The annual Brain Connectivity Workshop connects researchers in computational, experimental and clinical neuroscience to discuss brain connectivity and the intricate web of interactions and networks that connects the brain at all levels.<br>
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Held in partnership with Wellcome, this year's workshop put the spotlight on brain connectivity in relation to mental health. Participants discussed the challenges and opportunities of fundamental research, translating discoveries into clinical applications, and cross-disciplinary collaboration.<br>
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Several recurring themes emerged, including:  

 The need to fill gaps in our data. This underpinned nearly all discussions, ranging from the disparity in the quality and quantity of data from different populations around the world, to the incompatibility of measurements taken from different models and species, making it difficult to compare findings from different studies. Participants also emphasised the need for large, well-sampled longitudinal studies, annotated with clinical data.
 The importance of multimodal research. A breadth of in vivo, in vitro and computational models and measurements are used in brain connectivity research, spanning species and spatio-temporal scales. Each mode provides valuable insight - but it's their integration, made possible by multidisciplinary collaboration, that is most powerful.
 The need to diversify data and democratise technologies, to fully capture the breadth of mental health experiences and phenotypes. This is especially true in low- and middle-income countries, which have historically been overlooked in mental health research.
 The potential of artificial intelligence to overcome challenges associated with brain connectivity research and help translate discoveries into clinical applications.
 The importance of translating fundamental research into clinical relevance. Participants emphasised the value of breaking broad disorders into subtypes by stratifying patients - and the need to use this information to guide treatment or predict individual outcomes.

The event closed with an opportunity for attendees to highlight key challenges standing in the way of progress. This included:


 The dearth of longitudinal studies that are annotated with long-term follow-up data and rich information about environmental and social context.
 The difficulties of mapping and translating between scales, models, and species. This hinders the comparison of studies performed in different systems, and the integration of data that is needed to fully comprehend brain connectivity in relation to mental health.
 The urgent need to diversify neuroimaging data and improve accessibility to technology, so we can truly decipher the relationship between brain connectivity and the heterogeneity of mental health conditions and experiences.

Overcoming these challenges could unlock important information about how brain connectivity interfaces with complex environmental and biological factors, changes over time, and influences mental health, potentially leading to much-needed interventions and supporting our vision of a world in which no one is held back by mental health problems.<br>