Neurogenesis Drives Stimulus Decorrelation in a Model of the Olfactory Bulb

The reshaping and decorrelation of similar activity patterns by neuronal networks can enhance their discriminability, storage, and retrieval. How can such networks learn to decorrelate new complex patterns, as they arise in the olfactory system? Using a computational network model for the dominant neural populations of the olfactory bulb we show that fundamental aspects of the adult neurogenesis observed in the olfactory bulb -- the persistent addition of new inhibitory granule cells to the network, their activity-dependent survival, and the reciprocal character of their synapses with the principal mitral cells -- are sufficient to restructure the network and to alter its encoding of odor stimuli adaptively so as to reduce the correlations between the bulbar representations of similar stimuli. The decorrelation is quite robust with respect to various types of perturbations of the reciprocity. The model parsimoniously captures the experimentally observed role of neurogenesis in perceptual learning and the enhanced response of young granule cells to novel stimuli. Moreover, it makes specific predictions for the type of odor enrichment that should be effective in enhancing the ability of animals to discriminate similar odor mixtures

Levels of stress and related factors of primary caregivers of children with autism spectrum disorder in Barangays of Dasmarinas, Cavite

This study aimed to describe the demographic profile of the primary caregivers in terms of age, sex, civil status, occupational status and relationship to the child, the demographic profile of the child in terms of age and sex, the stress levels of primary caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in barangays of Dasmarinas, Cavite and the factors that affects their stress levels. The study utilized quantitative research design, specifically descriptive-survey design. Forty four (44) primary caregivers of children with Autism Spectrum Disorder in barangays of Dasmarinas, Cavite participated in the study. The questionnaires consisted of closed-ended questions and a Likert scale used for measuring the stress levels of primary caregivers. Data was analyzed through the use of mean, mode, frequency and percentage. Results indicate that primary caregivers experience low level of stress in the physical, emotional, and social clusters while average level of stress is experienced in the mental cluster. Overall, primary caregivers experience low level of stress in all aspects