From Brain Maps to Brain Twins

As part of the Distinguished Lectures promoted by the Padova Neuroscience Center (PNC) of the University of Padua, on Thursday 24 September 2026 Viktor Jirsa (Aix-Marseille Université)) will give a seminar entitled “From Brain Maps to Brain Twins” at the Istituto Teologico S. Antonio Dottore in Padua.

Over the last two decades, neuroimaging has revolutionised the way in which we describe the brain, providing maps that are increasingly detailed of its structure, functions and connectivity. The same approach also applies to healthy ageing and neurodegeneration: the challenges we must address are mechanistic and individual in nature: why does this brain generate these epileptic seizures and what will be the effects of this intervention?

Digital brain twins bridge this gap by integrating empirical brain maps with a generative mechanism. From an epistemic point of view, a digital brain twin is neither a simulation nor a statistical model in itself, but an integration of three elements: the individual brain, characterised through multimodal imaging; a generative mechanistic brain model, which expresses network activity on the subject’s connectome; and a bidirectional inference cycle linking the two elements, inverting the model against individual data to estimate latent parameters with quantified uncertainty. 
This triad composed of individual brain data, mechanism and inversion distinguishes a twin from a map or a stand-alone simulation, giving it clinical applicability.

During the meeting, the workflow is presented on the basis of examples of clinical applications to epilepsy and schizophrenia.  The same workflow also applies more generally to healthy ageing, neurodegeneration and other disorders, and is implemented through EBRAINS, the European digital research infrastructure in the field of neuroscience.

Viktor Jirsa has contributed to understanding how network structure constrains the emergence of functional dynamics, making use of methods drawn from non-linear dynamical systems theory and computational neuroscience. For his research activity, he has received recognition at national and international level, including the Prix François Erbsmann, the NASPSPA Early Career Distinguished Scholar Award and the Grand Prix de Recherche de Provence. He is one of the Lead Scientists of the Human Brain Project and the project The Virtual Brain.

The seminar, in English, is aimed in particular at faculty members, research staff and doctoral students.

For further information: administration.pnc@unipd.it