Data-driven modeling of the olfactory neural codes and their dynamics in the insect antennal lobe

Recordings from neurons in the insects' olfactory primary processing center, the antennal lobe (AL), reveal that the AL is able to process the input from chemical receptors into distinct neural activity patterns, called olfactory neural codes. These exciting results show the importance of neural codes and their relation to perception. The next challenge is to \emph{model the dynamics} of neural codes. In our study, we perform multichannel recordings from the projection neurons in the AL driven by different odorants. We then derive a neural network from the electrophysiological data. The network consists of lateral-inhibitory neurons and excitatory neurons, and is capable of producing unique olfactory neural codes for the tested odorants. Specifically, we (i) design a projection, an odor space, for the neural recording from the AL, which discriminates between distinct odorants trajectories (ii) characterize scent recognition, i.e., decision-making based on olfactory signals and (iii) infer the wiring of the neural circuit, the connectome of the AL. We show that the constructed model is consistent with biological observations, such as contrast enhancement and robustness to noise. The study answers a key biological question in identifying how lateral inhibitory neurons can be wired to excitatory neurons to permit robust activity patterns

Aerospace medicine and biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes, supplement 128, May 1974

This special bibliography lists 282 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in April 1974

Visual and eye movement functions of the posterior parietal cortex

Lesions of the posterior parietal area in humans produce interesting spatial-perceptual and spatial-behavioral deficits. Among the more important deficits observed are loss of spatial memories, problems representing spatial relations in models or drawings, disturbances in the spatial distribution of attention, and the inability to localize visual targets. Posterior parietal lesions in nonhuman primates also produce visual spatial deficits not unlike those found in humans. Mountcastle and his colleagues were the first to explore this area, using single cell recording techniques in behaving monkeys over 13 years ago. Subsequent work by Mountcastle, Lynch and colleagues, Hyvarinen and colleagues, Robinson, Goldberg & Stanton, and Sakata and colleagues during the period of the late 1970s and early 1980s provided an informational and conceptual foundation for exploration of this fascinating area of the brain. Four new directions of research that are presently being explored from this foundation are reviewed in this article. 1. The anatomical and functional organization of the inferior parietal lobule is presently being investigated with neuroanatomical tracing and single cell recording techniques. This area is now known to be comprised of at least four separate cortical fields. 2. Neural mechanisms for spatial constancy are being explored. In area 7a information about eye position is found to be integrated with visual inputs to produce representations of visual space that are head-centered (the meaning of a head-centered coordinate system is explained on p. 13). 3. The role of the posterior parietal cortex, and the pathways projecting into this region, in processing information about motion in the visual world is under investigation. Visual areas within the posterior parietal cortex may play a role in extracting higher level motion information including the perception of structure-from-motion. 4. A previously unexplored area within the intraparietal sulcus has been found whose cells hold a representation in memory of planned eye movements. Special experimental protocols have shown that these cells code the direction and amplitude of intended movements in motor coordinates and suggest that this area plays a role in motor planning

Visual and Chemosensory Pathways Associated With Male Courtship Decisions in Drosophila melanogaster

Successful mating in diverse animal species often depends on ritualistic sequences of spatially and temporally coordinated behavioral elements. Yet, the sensory cues and neural circuits that mediate optimal mating display patterns are largely unknown. The courtship ritual in Drosophila melanogaster consists of a well-studied sequence of behavioral elements — including orienting, chasing, tapping, singing, and licking — that are known to depend on several sensory modalities, including both vision and chemosensation. However, the specific sensory inputs utilized by males to direct the spatial and temporal transitions between different elements of the courtship ritual are not well understood. In this thesis, I therefore first develop a new computational tool to quantitatively characterize male courtship behaviors with a high spatial and temporal resolution. Subsequently, I use this tool, in conjunction with genetic and microscopy approaches to map the visual and chemosensory neural pathways that drive some of the patterned behavioral elements of the male courtship ritual. I demonstrate that whereas visual circuits are important for mediating both spatial and temporal components of male mating behaviors, chemosensory circuits are mostly required for enhancing the duration and intensity of courtship bouts. Further, I identify a male-specific axonal architecture present in subpopulations of foreleg chemosensory neurons which is important for helping to sustain mating behaviors. This thesis examines the inputs, processing centers, and neural architectures required for the proper organization of innate mating behaviors and should provide insight into understanding how animals transform sensory stimuli into complex behavioral outputs, which is a major goal in modern neuroscience

Aerospace Medicine and Biology: A continuing bibliography with indexes (supplement 314)

This bibliography lists 139 reports, articles, and other documents introduced into the NASA scientific and technical information system in August, 1988

Bio-Inspired Computer Vision: Towards a Synergistic Approach of Artificial and Biological Vision

To appear in CVIUStudies in biological vision have always been a great source of inspiration for design of computer vision algorithms. In the past, several successful methods were designed with varying degrees of correspondence with biological vision studies, ranging from purely functional inspiration to methods that utilise models that were primarily developed for explaining biological observations. Even though it seems well recognised that computational models of biological vision can help in design of computer vision algorithms, it is a non-trivial exercise for a computer vision researcher to mine relevant information from biological vision literature as very few studies in biology are organised at a task level. In this paper we aim to bridge this gap by providing a computer vision task centric presentation of models primarily originating in biological vision studies. Not only do we revisit some of the main features of biological vision and discuss the foundations of existing computational studies modelling biological vision, but also we consider three classical computer vision tasks from a biological perspective: image sensing, segmentation and optical flow. Using this task-centric approach, we discuss well-known biological functional principles and compare them with approaches taken by computer vision. Based on this comparative analysis of computer and biological vision, we present some recent models in biological vision and highlight a few models that we think are promising for future investigations in computer vision. To this extent, this paper provides new insights and a starting point for investigators interested in the design of biology-based computer vision algorithms and pave a way for much needed interaction between the two communities leading to the development of synergistic models of artificial and biological vision