Computational Modeling of the Rodent Head Direction System

小行星9631336 为了成功地在世界中导航，特别是在没有视觉输入的情况下（例如，在黑暗中），动物必须保持对它们所面对的方向的准确估计。 在啮齿类动物中，航向估计可能是由内耳的前庭线索、视觉线索和动物运动行为的信息组合来更新的。 该奖项支持啮齿动物大脑中参与代表头部方向的部分的计算机模型的开发，例如丘脑前核和后下托。 基于已知的头部方向细胞的调谐特性，头部方向系统似乎表现出自组织活动模式，称为吸引子，其随着动物的朝向改变而改变。 计算机建模可以揭示这个吸引子系统是如何运作的。 这项研究有望对神经系统如何组织动物行为以及信息如何在哺乳动物大脑中表达产生新的见解。

9631336 Touretzky In order to navigate successfully through the world, especially in the absence of visual input (e.g., in the dark), animals must maintain an accurate estimate of the direction in which they are facing. In rodents, the heading estimate is probably updated by a combination of vestibular cues from the inner ear, visual cues, and information about the animal's motor actions. This award supports the development of computer models of portions of the rodent brain involved in representing head direction, such as the anterior thalamic nuclei and the postsubiculum. Based on what is known about the tuning properties of head direction cells, the head direction system appears to exhibit a self- organizing activity pattern, called an attractor, that shifts as the animal's heading changes. Computer modeling can reveal how this attractor system operates. This research promises to yield new insights into how the nervous system organizes animal behavior and how information is represented in the mammalian brain.