CRI: Theory and Experiments on the Function of Visual Cortex

IBN：9634368 PI：McLaughlin 该项目将在NSF计划的支持下，将使能神经学纳入神经科学研究;这是一个 数学家和神经科学家的合作，解决大脑研究中最重要的问题。在我们看来，首要问题是 我们面临的是如何理解大脑皮层的功能 作为一个功能神经网络。我们研究大脑皮层中处理视觉信息的部分--叫做视觉皮层。 视觉皮层中的细胞选择性地对 物体的视觉边界的方向。 我们将 开发和测试这种选择性的神经网络模型， 看看它是否是一种从相互作用中产生的特性 大脑皮层的神经细胞之间的联系， 与皮层细胞连接的被动副产品， 大脑视觉系统的较低水平。我们认为 了解定向调节的神经基础， 视觉皮层对于理解 整个皮质的功能。 如果我们找到证据 大脑皮层相邻神经元之间的相互作用 是方向调整工作的关键，那么这将是 大脑皮层是一个 丰富的互联，交互式神经网络，可以 使用现有的分析工具进行研究。

IBN: 9634368 PI: McLaughlin This project will be supported under the NSF program on INTEGRATING ENABLING TECHNOLOGIES INTO NEUROSCIENCE RESEARCH; it is a collaboration of mathematicians and neuroscientists attacking the most important issues in brain research. In our view, the premier problem facing us is how to understand the function of the cerebral cortex of the brain as a functioning neural network. We study the part of the cerebral cortex that handles visual information--called the visual cortex. Cells in the visual cortex are selectively sensitive for the orientations of the visual boundaries of objects. We will develop and test neural network models for this selectivity, to see whether it is a property that emerges from interactions between nerve cells in the cerebral cortex, or whether it is a passive by-product of the connections to cortical cells from lower levels of the visual system of the brain. We believe that understanding the neural basis for orientation tuning in the visual cortex may be crucial for understanding the function of the entire cortex. If we find evidence that interaction between neighboring neurons in the cerebral cortex is essential for orientation tuning to work, then this will be crucial support for the idea that the cerebral cortex is a richly interconnected, interactive neural network that can be studied with available analytical tools.