Existence and Stability of Standing Pulses in Neural Networks: II Stability

We analyze the stability of standing pulse solutions of a neural network integro-differential equation. The network consists of a coarse-grained layer of neurons synaptically connected by lateral inhibition with a non-saturating nonlinear gain function. When two standing single-pulse solutions coexist, the small pulse is unstable, and the large pulse is stable. The large single-pulse is bistable with the ``all-off'' state. This bistable localized activity may have strong implications for the mechanism underlying working memory. We show that dimple pulses have similar stability properties to large pulses but double pulses are unstable.Comment: 31 pages, 16 figures, submitted to SIAM Journal on Applied Dynamical System

Modulation of human corticospinal excitability by paired associative stimulation

Paired Associative Stimulation (PAS) has come to prominence as a potential therapeutic intervention for the treatment of brain injury/disease, and as an experimental method with which to investigate Hebbian principles of neural plasticity in humans. Prototypically, a single electrical stimulus is directed to a peripheral nerve in advance of transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) delivered to the contralateral primary motor cortex (M1). Repeated pairing of the stimuli (i.e., association) over an extended period may increase or decrease the excitability of corticospinal projections from M1, in manner that depends on the interstimulus interval (ISI). It has been suggested that these effects represent a form of associative long-term potentiation (LTP) and depression (LTD) that bears resemblance to spike-timing dependent plasticity (STDP) as it has been elaborated in animal models. With a large body of empirical evidence having emerged since the cardinal features of PAS were first described, and in light of the variations from the original protocols that have been implemented, it is opportune to consider whether the phenomenology of PAS remains consistent with the characteristic features that were initially disclosed. This assessment necessarily has bearing upon interpretation of the effects of PAS in relation to the specific cellular pathways that are putatively engaged, including those that adhere to the rules of STDP. The balance of evidence suggests that the mechanisms that contribute to the LTP- and LTD-type responses to PAS differ depending on the precise nature of the induction protocol that is used. In addition to emphasizing the requirement for additional explanatory models, in the present analysis we highlight the key features of the PAS phenomenology that require interpretation

The Impact of Transiting Planet Science on the Next Generation of Direct-Imaging Planet Searches

Within the next five years, a number of direct-imaging planet search instruments, like the VLT SPHERE instrument, will be coming online. To successfully carry out their programs, these instruments will rely heavily on a-priori information on planet composition, atmosphere, and evolution. Transiting planet surveys, while covering a different semi-major axis regime, have the potential to provide critical foundations for these next-generation surveys. For example, improved information on planetary evolutionary tracks may significantly impact the insights that can be drawn from direct-imaging statistical data. Other high-impact results from transiting planet science include information on mass-to-radius relationships as well as atmospheric absorption bands. The marriage of transiting planet and direct-imaging results may eventually give us the first complete picture of planet migration, multiplicity, and general evolution.Comment: 4 pages, 3 figures, IAU Transiting Planets Proceedings, in pres

What’s Sex (Composition) Got to Do with It? The Importance of Sex Composition of Gangs for Female and Male Members’ Offending and Victimization

Sex composition of groups has been theorized in organizational sociology and found in prior work to structure female and male members’ behaviors and experiences. Peer group and gang literature similarly finds that the sex gap in offending varies across groups of differing sex ratios. Drawing on this and other research linking gang membership, offending, and victimization, we examine whether sex composition of gangs is linked to sex differences in offending in this sample, further assess whether sex composition similarly structures females’ and males’ victimization experiences, and if so, why. Self-report data from gang members in a multi-site, longitudinal study of 3,820 youths are employed. Results support previous findings about variations in member delinquency by both sex and sex composition of the gang and also indicate parallel variations in members’ victimization. These results are further considered within the context of facilitating effects such as gender dynamics, gang characteristics, and normative orientation

A closed-form solution for noise contours

An analytical approach for generating noise contours that overcome the difficulties of existing programs is described. This approach is valid for arbitrarily complex paths and reveals the importance of various factors that influence contour shape and size. The calculations are simple enough to be implemented on a small, hand-held programmable calculator, and a program for the HP-67 calculator is illustrated. The method is fast, simple, and gives the area, the contour, and its extremities for arbitrary flight paths for both takeoffs and landings