Collaborative Research: A Dynamic Atlas of the Cricket Cercal Sensory System

合作研究：板球尾部感觉系统的动态图谱

• 批准号: 0090966
• 负责人: Gwen Jacobs
• 金额: $ 24.13万
• 依托单位: Montana State University
• 依托单位国家: 美国
• 项目类别: Continuing Grant
• 财政年份: 2001
• 资助国家: 美国
• 起止时间: 2001-08-15 至 2005-07-31
• 项目状态: 已结题
• 来源: https://www.nsf.gov/awardsearch/showAward?AWD_ID=0090966&HistoricalAwards=false
• 关键词: Collaborative; Research; Dynamic; Atlas; Cricket

A fundamental question in neuroscience is how natural sensory stimuli are encoded for information handling by the brain. Invertebrate animals often offer systems that are in some ways simpler than those of mammals, and including such features as identifiable single cells in networks of relatively few numbers. This collaborative project exploits a sensory system called the cercal system of the cricket, in which small appendages on the rear of the body contain fine hairs that are used to detect, identify and localize behaviorally relevant air current movements, such as those produced by a predator. The input from roughly 2000 receptor cells converges on 30 local interneurons and only 20 output interneurons that lead to behavior such as escape. Three collaborators at two institutions use computational and mathematical analyses of a database of anatomical and physiological measurements on the 'dynamic map' that does the central processing in the brain of the peripheral signals. The goals are to characterize the representation of dynamic sensory stimulus parameters at two processing stages within the mapped sensory system, and to examine the mechanisms that transform the representation at the interface between these two processing stages. Results will be important for our understanding of information representation in nervous systems, particularly in dynamic processing. The project also will enhance the independent career of a woman faculty member in mathematics, and students will receive multi-disciplinary, highly quantitative training related to biology, in two states that do not currently have high profiles in federally funded research.

神经科学中的一个基本问题是如何编码自然感觉刺激以通过大脑的信息处理。 无脊椎动物通常提供的系统在某些方面比哺乳动物更简单，并且包括相对较少数字的网络中可识别的单细胞等功能。 这个协作项目利用了一种称为板球的尾系统的感觉系统，其中人体后部的小附属物包含用于检测，识别和定位与行为相关的空气电流运动的细头，例如由捕食者产生的运动。 大约2000受体细胞的输入收敛于30个局部神经元，只有20个导致行为（例如逃逸）的输出中间神经元的输入。 两个机构的三个合作者使用“动态图”上的解剖学和生理测量数据库的计算和数学分析，该数据库在外围信号的大脑中进行了中央处理。 目标是表征在映射的感觉系统中两个处理阶段的动态感觉刺激参数的表示，并检查在这两个处理阶段之间在接口处发生表示的机制。 结果对于我们对神经系统中信息表示的理解至关重要，尤其是在动态处理中。 该项目还将增强数学女性教职员工的独立职业，学生将在目前在联邦资助的研究中没有较高概况的两个州接受多学科的高度定量培训。