CRI: Theory and Experiments on the Function of Visual Cortex

IBN：9634368 PI：McLaughlin这个项目将得到美国国家科学基金会关于将使能技术整合到神经科学研究中的计划的支持；它是数学家和神经科学家合作解决大脑研究中最重要的问题。在我们看来，我们面临的首要问题是如何理解大脑皮层作为一个正常运作的神经网络的功能。我们研究大脑皮质中处理视觉信息的部分--称为视觉皮质。视觉皮层中的细胞对物体视觉边界的方向选择性地敏感。我们将开发和测试这种选择性的神经网络模型，看看它是大脑皮层神经细胞之间相互作用产生的特性，还是从大脑视觉系统较低水平连接到皮质细胞的被动副产品。我们认为，了解视觉皮质中定向调节的神经基础可能对了解整个皮质的功能至关重要。如果我们发现证据表明，大脑皮层相邻神经元之间的相互作用对于定向调整起作用是必不可少的，那么这将是对大脑皮层是一个高度相互联系的交互神经网络的观点的关键支持，可以用可用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.