I am a theoretical neuroscientist and Ramón y Cajal Research fellow at the Polytechnic University of Catalonia, Barcelona, Spain. My research focuses on general principles underlying brain function, studying neural networks across different scales and states. I investigate how cognitive processes are represented in spatiotemporal neuronal activity patterns, how brain regions interact, and how collective behaviors in neural networks underpin brain function and various brain states.

My approach combines data analysis and theoretical modeling using stochastic dynamical systems, information theory, statistical physics, interacting particle systems, machine learning, and graph theory.

I have received fellowships, including a PhD scholarship from the Mexican Government and the postdoctoral fellowships Juan de la Cierva and Ramón y Cajal. Currently, I lead a project funded by the Spanish State Research Agency (AEI) on the role of cell types in critical neuronal activity.

Personal website: https://www.ponce-alvarez.com/ 

Computational neuroscience; Whole-brain models; Brain states; Phase transitions; Criticality

[2023-2026] “The role of cell types in critical neural activity”, Spanish State Research Agency (PID2022-137708NB-I00). PI: A. Ponce-Alvarez.

Grabenhorst F, Ponce-Alvarez A, Battaglia-Mayer A, Deco G, Schultz W (2023) A view-based decision mechanism for rewards in the primate amygdala. Neuron 111, 1-14.

Ponce-Alvarez A, Kringelbach ML, Deco G (2023) Critical scaling of whole-brain resting-state dynamics. Nature Communications Biology 6, 627.

Ponce-Alvarez A, Uhrig L, Deco N, Signorelli CM, Kringelbach ML, Jarraya B, Deco G (2022) Macroscopic quantities of collective brain activity during wakefulness and anesthesia. Cerebral Cortex 32(2), 298–311

Pfeffer T, Ponce-Alvarez A, Meindertsma T, Gahnström C, van den Brink RL, Nolte G, Tsetsos K, Engel AK, Deco G, Donner TH (2021) Circuit mechanisms for the chemical modulation of cortex-wide network interactions and exploration behavior. Science Advances, 7(29), eabf5620.

Ponce-Alvarez A, Mochol G, Hermoso-Mendizabal A, de la Rocha J, Deco G (2020) Cortical state transitions and stimulus response evolve along stiff and sloppy parameter dimensions, respectively. eLife 9, e53268.

Hahn G, Ponce-Alvarez A, Deco G, Aertsen A, Kumar A (2019) Portraits of communication in neuronal networks. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 20, 117-127.

Ponce-Alvarez A*, Jouary A*, Privat M, Deco G, Sumbre G (2018) Whole-brain neuronal activity displays crackling noise dynamics. Neuron 100, 1446-1459.

Ponce-Alvarez A, Deco G, Hagmann P, Romani GL, Mantini D, Corbetta M (2015a) Resting-state temporal synchronization networks emerge from connectivity topology and heterogeneity. PLoS Computational Biology e1004100.

Ponce-Alvarez A*, Thiele A*, Albright TD, Stoner GR, Deco G (2013) Stimulus-dependent variability and noise correlations in cortical MT neurons. PNAS 110(32):13162-7.

Deco G*, Ponce-Alvarez A*, Mantini D, Romani GL, Hagmann P, Corbetta M (2013) Resting-state functional connectivity emerges from structurally and dynamically shaped slow linear fluctuations. Journal of Neuroscience 33(27):11239-52.