16,925 research outputs found
Development of spatial coarse-to-fine processing in the visual pathway
The sequential analysis of information in a coarse-to-fine manner is a
fundamental mode of processing in the visual pathway. Spatial frequency (SF)
tuning, arguably the most fundamental feature of spatial vision, provides
particular intuition within the coarse-to-fine framework: low spatial
frequencies convey global information about an image (e.g., general
orientation), while high spatial frequencies carry more detailed information
(e.g., edges). In this paper, we study the development of cortical spatial
frequency tuning. As feedforward input from the lateral geniculate nucleus
(LGN) has been shown to have significant influence on cortical coarse-to-fine
processing, we present a firing-rate based thalamocortical model which includes
both feedforward and feedback components. We analyze the relationship between
various model parameters (including cortical feedback strength) and responses.
We confirm the importance of the antagonistic relationship between the center
and surround responses in thalamic relay cell receptive fields (RFs), and
further characterize how specific structural LGN RF parameters affect cortical
coarse-to-fine processing. Our results also indicate that the effect of
cortical feedback on spatial frequency tuning is age-dependent: in particular,
cortical feedback more strongly affects coarse-to-fine processing in kittens
than in adults. We use our results to propose an experimentally testable
hypothesis for the function of the extensive feedback in the corticothalamic
circuit.Comment: 20 pages, 7 figures; substantial restructuring from previous versio
Mathematical modelling plant signalling networks
During the last two decades, molecular genetic studies and the completion of the sequencing of the Arabidopsis thaliana genome have increased knowledge of hormonal regulation in plants. These signal transduction pathways act in concert through gene regulatory and signalling networks whose main components have begun to be elucidated. Our understanding of the resulting cellular processes is hindered by the complex, and sometimes counter-intuitive, dynamics of the networks, which may be interconnected through feedback controls and cross-regulation. Mathematical modelling provides a valuable tool to investigate such dynamics and to perform in silico experiments that may not be easily carried out in a laboratory. In this article, we firstly review general methods for modelling gene and signalling networks and their application in plants. We then describe specific models of hormonal perception and cross-talk in plants. This sub-cellular analysis paves the way for more comprehensive mathematical studies of hormonal transport and signalling in a multi-scale setting
The cellular dynamics of bone remodeling: a mathematical model
The mechanical properties of vertebrate bone are largely determined by a
process which involves the complex interplay of three different cell types.
This process is called {\it bone remodeling}, and occurs asynchronously at
multiple sites in the mature skeleton. The cells involved are bone resorbing
osteoclasts, bone matrix producing osteoblasts and mechanosensing osteocytes.
These cells communicate with each other by means of autocrine and paracrine
signaling factors and operate in complex entities, the so-called bone
multicellular units (BMU). To investigate the BMU dynamics in silico, we
develop a novel mathematical model resulting in a system of nonlinear partial
differential equations with time delays. The model describes the osteoblast and
osteoclast populations together with the dynamics of the key messenger molecule
RANKL and its decoy receptor OPG. Scaling theory is used to address parameter
sensitivity and predict the emergence of pathological remodeling regimes. The
model is studied numerically in one and two space dimensions using finite
difference schemes in space and explicit delay equation solvers in time. The
computational results are in agreement with in vivo observations and provide
new insights into the role of the RANKL/OPG pathway in the spatial regulation
of bone remodeling
- …