Typical and Atypical Development of Large-scale Functional Brain Networks

Over the past two decades, Prof. Menon’s research has led to major breakthroughs in our understanding of the architecture, function, and development of these large-scale distributed human brain networks. Leveraging expertise in neuroscience, statistics, engineering, computer science, psychology, psychiatry, and neurology, Prof. Menon and his team’s research on the organization of the brain into specialized and interacting networks of brain regions has triggered a paradigm shift in how human brain function and cognition can be investigated. Virtually every psychiatric and neurological disorder has since been probed with the scientific framework Prof. Menon and his team first developed. This included the discovery of the default mode and salience networks in the brain, which have led to the elucidation of how deficits in access, engagement and disengagement of large-scale brain networks play a prominent role in psychopathology, providing novel insights into brain mechanisms underlying cognitive, affective, and social function and dysfunction that cut across multiple neurological and psychiatric disorders. His lab is now recognized as one of the world’s leading groups in human cognitive and clinical systems neuroscience.