Jan Fousek

About Me

I am a researcher specializing in the application of computational models to neuroscience. My work focuses on understanding neurodegenerative diseases through personalized virtual brain models, with a particular interest in Alzheimer's Disease (AD) and Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). I am currently a part of the Applied Neuroscience Research Group lead by Irena Rektorová at Masaryk University.

My research interests are centered on using large-scale computational models to investigate brain dynamics in both healthy and pathological states. I build "virtual brain twins" to simulate disease progression and response to non-invasive brain stimulation. This work aims to bridge theoretical neuroscience with clinical applications, developing tools that can personalize treatment strategies and improve our understanding of conditions like Alzheimer's and DLB.

Research & Publications

First Author

• Symmetry breaking organizes the brain’s resting state manifold. Fousek, J., Rabuffo, G., Gudibanda, K., Sheheitli, H., Petkoski, S. and Jirsa, V., Scientific reports, 14(1), p.31970. 2024.
  Link to paper
• Efficient sparse matrix-delayed vector multiplication for discretized neural field model. Fousek, J. The Journal of Supercomputing, 74(5), pp.1863-1884. 2018.
  Link to paper

Second Author

• Spatiotemporal brain complexity quantifies consciousness outside of perturbation paradigms. Breyton, M., Fousek, J., Rabuffo, G., Sorrentino, P., Kusch, L., Massimini, M., Petkoski, S. and Jirsa, V., eLife, 13:RP98920. 2024.
  Link to paper
• High-resolution virtual brain modeling personalizes deep brain stimulation for treatment-resistant depression: Spatiotemporal response characteristics following stimulation of neural fiber pathways. An, S., Fousek, J., Kiss, Z. H., Cortese, F., van Der Wijk, G., McAusland, L. B., ... Jirsa, V. & Protzner, A. B. Neuroimage, 249, 118848. 2022.
  Link to paper
• Neuronal cascades shape whole-brain functional dynamics at rest. Rabuffo, G., Fousek, J., Bernard, C., & Jirsa, V. ENeuro, 8(5). 2021.
  Link to paper

Last Author

• A whole-brain model of the aging brain during slow wave sleep. Lupi, E., Di Antonio, G., Angiolelli, M., Sacha, M., Kayabas, M.A., Alboré, N., Leone, R., El Kanbi, K., Destexhe, A. and Fousek, J. Eneuro, 11(11). 2024.
  Link to paper

For a full list, see Google Scholar

Ongoing Projects

PINGED: Personalizing virtual brains with neurodegenerative disease

This project focuses on using non-invasive brain stimulation to create personalized virtual brain models for individuals with neurodegenerative diseases like Alzheimer's. The goal is to develop a workflow that combines stimulation responses and resting state dynamics to estimate an individual's position along their disease progression trajectory.

VIBRANT-DLB: Virtual brain twins for trajectories of Dementia with Lewy Bodies

This project aims to create personalized virtual brain models ("twins") for patients with Dementia with Lewy Bodies (DLB). It will adapt recent advances in virtual brain models to include pathways related to DLB and use them to relate changes in cognitive performance to disease progression.

Tools & Resources

Datasets

• Synthetic simultaneous EEG-fMRI resting state dataset simulated with The Virtual Brain. Fousek, J., Rabuffo, G., & Jirsa, V. EBRAINS. 2020
  Link to paper

Models

• The Virtual Aging Brain (v1.0.0). Lavanga, M., Stumme, J., Yalcinkaya, B. H., Fousek, J., Jockwitz, C., Sheheitli, H., Bittner, N., Hashemi, M., Petkoski, S., Caspers, S., & Jirsa, V. EBRAINS. 2023
  Link to paper

• Mean-field approximation of network of biophysical neurons driven by conductance-based ion exchange (f659780). Rabuffo, G., Calabrese, C., Fousek, J., Jirsa, V., & Olmi, S. EBRAINS. 2023
  Link to paper

Tools & Software

• TVB tutorials : accessible entry-point to brain network modeling with TVB
  Link to github

Academic Background

• MSCA fellowship : Applied Neurosciences Research Group, CEITEC Masaryk University, Brno
  Czech Republic (since 2023)
• postdoc : Institut de Neurosciences des Systèmes, Aix-Marseille University (2018 – 2023)
• PhD in Informatics : Faculty of Informatics, Masaryk University in Brno (2018)

Download my full curriculum vitae: cv_jf.pdf

Acknowledgements

Jan Fousek receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the Marie Sklodowska-Curie grant agreement No 101130827.

Media & Social

Latest Posts

Happy to share our latest work here : slowing down of the sleep waves during ageing can be explained by alterations in structural connectivity. doi.org/10.1523/ENEU... Let's have a 🧵, dear #neuroskyence, shall we?

[image or embed]

— Jan Fousek (@janfousek.bsky.social) Nov 17, 2024 at 5:29 PM

Contact

Email: jan.fousek@ceitec.muni.cz

Workplace: Central European Institiute of Technology, Masaryk University, Brno