TIBBE-BrainWeb

TIBBE-BrainWeb

A permanent space for the The Integrative Biology of Brain Evolution network community to find collaborators, projects and start working together.

We aim at fostering sharing data, tools and our experience across scales and taxa. The TIBBE-Web has been created to add a community component that allows to find collaborators and projects across labs.
The TIBBE-Web is part of the larger BrainWeb and you can explore your connections in the larger network beyond brain evolution.

TIBBE at a glance

A short video on what drives us.

Background

Brains are the product of evolutionary processes that act on the entire organism. Selection acts directly on behaviour, but the brain also mediates behavioural responses to the environment. Behavioural differences stem from developmental variability in the production of neural circuits, but some circuits may be more robust to developmental noise than others, and some neural traits may be significantly constrained. These dynamic processes and interactions shape the way the brain evolves across time, and in response to different selection regimes. Disentangling these interactions is difficult, making it challenging to identify specific factors that drive evolution. Yet, uncovering general principles that determine the evolvability of neural systems can illuminate factors that have influenced brain evolution.

Mechanisms of brain evolution are inevitably complex, and as such, identifying general principles affecting how brains and behaviour evolve is a major challenge. TIBBE – The Integrative Biology of Brain Evolution – aims to facilitate advances in this endeavour by encouraging integrative approaches, across disciplines, study systems and biological levels. Our collaborative network will encourage and support synthesising data, methods and ideas from multiple studies and systems to generate more comprehensive insights into the evolutionary history of the brain.

Our network is established at a time when brain evolution research is rapidly advancing, with new comparative brain data being generated through the use of a variety of techniques from behavioural observation, to advanced imaging techniques, spanning single cells and synapses to whole brain networks. In parallel, new developments in comparative statistics allow for integration across data types, and for more powerful and informative phylogenetic analyses. It is therefore timely to establish an infrastructure to exchange these data across scales and modalities, curate resources, tools and tutorials on how to use and integrate them, and build collaborations around a broader comparative framework that could foster insights in general mechanisms and patterns underlying brain evolution.

Objectives

The broad goal of TIBBE is to encourage and support synthesising data, methods and ideas from multiple studies and systems to generate more comprehensive insights into the evolutionary history of the brain. Our three objectives focus on active research areas , and we will utilise the broad expertise within TIBBE to develop fundamental questions about brain evolution and an interdisciplinary research program.

i. Identify common internal mechanisms of brain evolution, across species. What developmental, physical, and evolutionary drivers and constraints act on brain composition and network architecture across animals?

ii. Address how the brain evolves within the greater context of organismal functional physiology and ecology. How do the evolution of brain structure, connectivity, and function interact with changes in the body, physiology, ecology and environment?

iii. Determine whether certain brain structures and functions are more evolvable than others. Do all behavioural circuits evolve according to similar rules? To what extent is evolvability influenced by the particular nature of the behaviour, features of the neural circuits, and/or other factors such as genetic and mechanical influences during development?

Our overriding belief is that to address these objectives we need to integrate analytical approaches and data across diverse species. The study of brain evolution is divided into communities with specific areas of expertise; ranging from molecular genetics, to comparative anatomy, paleoneurology, and neuroethology. Researchers are further divided according to the taxa they study. Currently, few bridges extend across these communities to identify common themes, motivations. Creating these bridges will support future endeavours aiming at a comprehensive understanding of brain evolution.

Outcomes

TIBBE will bring together researchers working on brain evolution to exchange ideas, share expertise on tools and methods, share data, and discuss new findings. The network will be open to all brain evolution researchers to participate in events, (co-)organise events, and contribute to the web platform. This will facilitate interaction and collaboration among the wider brain evolution community, ensuring active integration of early-career researchers, creating an inclusive and diverse network.

Team of organisers

Organising committee