Yi-hang Huang
My name is Yi-hang Huang from the Institute of Psychology, Chinese Academy of Sciences. I’m studying how brain networks change in people with schizophrenia, major depressive disorder, and bipolar disorder. Learning more about these changes can help us create better ways to diagnose these conditions early, design personalized therapies, and improve overall patient care.
Think of these brain networks as highways in the mind. In psychiatric disorders, the “traffic” on these highways might move at unusual speeds. Traditional methods often look at the average traffic across an entire city, which hides individual differences—like rush-hour jams or late-night free-flow. In contrast, a measure called Individual Variability in Functional Connectivity (IVFC) is like tracking each driver’s route in real time, capturing small detours and personal traffic patterns. By zooming in on these individual differences, we can uncover hidden “back roads” and “bottlenecks” that paint a more accurate picture of each person’s brain.
So far, we’ve found that schizophrenia shows the most widespread disruptions, followed by bipolar disorder and then major depressive disorder. This suggests that these network problems form a spectrum across the disorders. With this new understanding, we can refine diagnoses, tailor treatments, and ultimately improve outcomes for those affected. What underlying mechanisms drive these differences? I invite you to visit my poster for a deeper dive and to explore these intriguing questions together.
