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Byeongwook Lee

Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology · Neuroscience

About the Lab

Professor Byeongwook Lee's research lab specializes in understanding the neural mechanisms underlying large-scale brain network dynamics, with a focus on the salience network (SN) and default mode network (DMN) in rodent models. The lab integrates optogenetics, fiber photometry, fMRI, and computational modeling to investigate how neural activity in key brain regions orchestrates cognitive functions such as attention, self-referential processing, and speech perception. A central theme is uncovering the causal and dynamic interactions between brain networks, particularly how top-down control and oscillatory activity shape functional connectivity and behavior. The lab also explores the principles of robust and efficient network control in the brain, comparing them to other complex systems.

brain network dynamicssalience networkdefault mode networkoptogeneticscomputational modeling

Research Overview

Papers
24
Total Citations
272
Papers (5y)
16
Primary Field
Neuroscience

Research Output Trend

Figures are computed from collected data and may differ slightly.

Publications per year (5y)
16total
2021
2022
2023
2024
2025
Citations per year (5y)
185total
20212022202320242025

Selected Papers

15
1
Article|50 citations·2023
Optogenetic stimulation of anterior insular cortex neurons in male rats reveals causal mechanisms underlying suppression of the default mode network by the salience network
Vinod Menon, Domenic H. Cerri, Byeongwook Lee, Rui Yuan, Sung-Ho Lee, Yen‐Yu Ian Shih
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

The salience network (SN) and default mode network (DMN) play a crucial role in cognitive function. The SN, anchored in the anterior insular cortex (AI), has been hypothesized to modulate DMN activity during stimulus-driven cognition. However, the causal neural mechanisms underlying changes in DMN activity and its functional connectivity with the SN are poorly understood. Here we combine feedforward optogenetic stimulation with fMRI and computational modeling to dissect the causal role of AI neu

Cellular and Molecular NeuroscienceNeuroscience
2
Article|44 citations·2023
Neuronal dynamics of the default mode network and anterior insular cortex: Intrinsic properties and modulation by salient stimuli
Tzu-Hao Harry Chao, Byeongwook Lee, Li‐Ming Hsu, Domenic H. Cerri, Weiting Zhang, Tzu-Wen Winnie Wang, Srikanth Ryali, Vinod Menon, Yen‐Yu Ian Shih
SJR Q1Science AdvancesOA

The default mode network (DMN) is critical for self-referential mental processes, and its dysfunction is implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the neurophysiological properties and task-based functional organization of the rodent DMN are poorly understood, limiting its translational utility. Here, we combine fiber photometry with functional magnetic resonance imaging (fMRI) and computational modeling to characterize dynamics of putative rat DMN nodes and their interactions with

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
3
Article|41 citations·2018
Combined Positive and Negative Feedback Allows Modulation of Neuronal Oscillation Frequency during Sensory Processing
Byeongwook Lee, Dongkwan Shin, Steven P. Gross, Kwang‐Hyun Cho
SJR Q1Cell ReportsOA

A key step in sensory information processing involves modulation and integration of neuronal oscillations in disparate frequency bands, a poorly understood process. Here, we investigate how top-down input causes frequency changes in slow oscillations during sensory processing and, in turn, how the slow oscillations are combined with fast oscillations (which encode sensory input). Using experimental connectivity patterns and strengths of interneurons, we develop a system-level model of a neuronal

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
4
Article|33 citations·2021
Latent brain state dynamics and cognitive flexibility in older adults
Byeongwook Lee, Weidong Cai, Christina B. Young, Rui Yuan, Sephira G. Ryman, Jeehyun Kim, Veronica Santini, Victor W. Henderson, Kathleen L. Poston, Vinod Menon
SJR Q1Progress in NeurobiologyOA
Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
5
Article|24 citations·2019
The Hidden Control Architecture of Complex Brain Networks
Byeongwook Lee, Uiryong Kang, Hongjun Chang, Kwang‐Hyun Cho
SJR Q1iScienceOA

The brain controls various cognitive functions in a robust and efficient way. What is the control architecture of brain networks that enables such robust and optimal control? Is this brain control architecture distinct from that of other complex networks? Here, we developed a framework to delineate a control architecture of a complex network that is compatible with the behavior of the network and applied the framework to structural brain networks and other complex networks. As a result, we revea

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
6
Article|15 citations·2016
Brain-inspired speech segmentation for automatic speech recognition using the speech envelope as a temporal reference
Byeongwook Lee, Kwang‐Hyun Cho
SJR Q1Scientific ReportsOA

Speech segmentation is a crucial step in automatic speech recognition because additional speech analyses are performed for each framed speech segment. Conventional segmentation techniques primarily segment speech using a fixed frame size for computational simplicity. However, this approach is insufficient for capturing the quasi-regular structure of speech, which causes substantial recognition failure in noisy environments. How does the brain handle quasi-regular structured speech and maintain h

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
7
Article|13 citations·2024
Space wandering in the rodent default mode network
Trang-Anh E. Nghiem, Byeongwook Lee, Tzu-Hao Harry Chao, Nicholas K. Branigan, Percy K. Mistry, Yen‐Yu Ian Shih, Vinod Menon
SJR Q1Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesOA

The default mode network (DMN) is a large-scale brain network known to be suppressed during a wide range of cognitive tasks. However, our comprehension of its role in naturalistic and unconstrained behaviors has remained elusive because most research on the DMN has been conducted within the restrictive confines of MRI scanners. Here, we use multisite GCaMP (a genetically encoded calcium indicator) fiber photometry with simultaneous videography to probe DMN function in awake, freely exploring rat

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
8
Article|12 citations·2024
Subthalamic nucleus–language network connectivity predicts dopaminergic modulation of speech function in Parkinson’s disease
Weidong Cai, Christina B. Young, Rui Yuan, Byeongwook Lee, Sephira G. Ryman, Jeehyun Kim, Laurice Yang, Taylor F. Levine, Victor W. Henderson, Kathleen L. Poston, Vinod Menon
SJR Q1Proceedings of the National Academy of SciencesOA

Speech impediments are a prominent yet understudied symptom of Parkinson's disease (PD). While the subthalamic nucleus (STN) is an established clinical target for treating motor symptoms, these interventions can lead to further worsening of speech. The interplay between dopaminergic medication, STN circuitry, and their downstream effects on speech in PD is not yet fully understood. Here, we investigate the effect of dopaminergic medication on STN circuitry and probe its association with speech a

NeurologyMedicine
9
Article|11 citations·2022
Dopaminergic medication normalizes aberrant cognitive control circuit signalling in Parkinson’s disease
Weidong Cai, Christina B. Young, Rui Yuan, Byeongwook Lee, Sephira G. Ryman, Jeehyun Kim, Laurice Yang, Victor W. Henderson, Kathleen L. Poston, Vinod Menon
SJR Q1BrainOA

Dopaminergic medication is widely used to alleviate motor symptoms of Parkinson's disease, but these medications also impact cognition with significant variability across patients. It is hypothesized that dopaminergic medication impacts cognition and working memory in Parkinson's disease by modulating frontoparietal-basal ganglia cognitive control circuits, but little is known about the underlying causal signalling mechanisms and their relation to individual differences in response to dopaminerg

NeurologyMedicine
10
Article|8 citations·2025
Dopaminergic modulation and dosage effects on brain state dynamics and working memory component processes in Parkinson’s disease
Byeongwook Lee, Christina B. Young, Weidong Cai, Rui Yuan, Sephira G. Ryman, Jeehyun Kim, Laurice Yang, Victor W. Henderson, Kathleen L. Poston, Vinod Menon
SJR Q1Nature CommunicationsOA

Parkinson's disease (PD) is primarily diagnosed through its characteristic motor deficits, yet it also encompasses progressive cognitive impairments that profoundly affect quality of life. While dopaminergic medications are routinely prescribed to manage motor symptoms in PD, their influence extends to cognitive functions as well. Here we investigate how dopaminergic medication influences aberrant brain circuit dynamics associated with encoding, maintenance and retrieval working memory (WM) task

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
11
Preprint|7 citations·2022
Neuronal dynamics of the default mode network and anterior insular cortex: Intrinsic properties and modulation by salient stimuli
Tzu-Hao Harry Chao, Byeongwook Lee, Li‐Ming Hsu, Domenic H. Cerri, Weiting Zhang, Tzu-Wen Winnie Wang, Srikanth Ryali, Vinod Menon, Yen‐Yu Ian Shih
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)OA

Summary The default mode network (DMN) is closely associated with self-referential mental functions and its dysfunction is implicated in many neuropsychiatric disorders. However, the neurophysiological properties and task-based functional organization of the rodent DMN are poorly understood, limiting its translational utility. Here, we combine fiber-photometry with fMRI and computational modeling to characterize dynamics of putative rodent DMN nodes and their interactions with the anterior insul

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
12
Article|7 citations·2015
Complete genome sequence of the Variibacter gotjawalensis GJW-30T from soil of lava forest, Gotjawal
Jung‐Sook Lee, Keun Chul Lee, Kwang Kyu Kim, Byeongwook Lee
SJR Q2Journal of Biotechnology
Molecular BiologyBiochemistry, Genetics and Molecular Biology
13
Article|5 citations·2022
The hidden community architecture of human brain networks
Byeongwook Lee, Uiryong Kang, Hongjun Chang, Kwang‐Hyun Cho
SJR Q1Scientific ReportsOA

The organizational principles of the community architecture of human brain networks are still mostly unknown. Here, we found that brain networks have a moderate degree of community segregation but are specifically organized to achieve high community overlap while maintaining their segregated community structures. These properties are distinct from other real-world complex networks. Additionally, we found that human subjects with a higher degree of community overlap in their brain networks show g

Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience
14
Preprint|2 citations·2022
Optogenetic stimulation of anterior insular cortex neurons reveals causal mechanisms underlying suppression of the default mode network by the salience network
Vinod Menon, Domenic H. Cerri, Byeongwook Lee, Rui Yuan, Sung‐Ho Lee, Yen‐Yu Ian Shih
bioRxiv (Cold Spring Harbor Laboratory)OA

Abstract The salience network (SN) and default mode network (DMN) play a crucial role in cognitive function. The SN, anchored in the anterior insular cortex (AI), has been hypothesized to modulate DMN activity during stimulus-driven cognition. However, the causal neural mechanisms underlying changes in DMN activity and its functional connectivity with the SN are poorly understood. Here we combine feedforward optogenetic stimulation with fMRI and computational modeling to dissect the causal role

Cellular and Molecular NeuroscienceNeuroscience
15
Article|0 citations·2016
The regulation principle underlying interneuron circuits for frequency modulation of neuronal oscillations
Byeongwook Lee, Dongkwan Shin, Kwang Hyun Cho
Cognitive NeuroscienceNeuroscience

Research Areas

Cognitive NeuroscienceCellular and Molecular NeuroscienceNeurologyArtificial IntelligenceMolecular Biology

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