RIG: Evolution of Neural Codes: Insights from the Crocodilian Dome Pressure Receptors

一个人如何在人群中找到朋友？大脑进行场景分析的方式仍然是未知的，这对科学家来说是一个难以破解的问题。环境的许多特征需要由神经系统进行差异化编码，以导致适当的行为。鳄鱼的大脑面临着和任何其他动物一样的问题：在忙碌的背景下定位兴趣来源。但对他们来说，这项任务可能更容易，了解他们是如何做到这一点的，让科学家们能够深入了解大脑用来进行场景分析的一般计算规则。鳄鱼经常在完全黑暗的环境中捕猎，半淹没在水中，等待猎物扰乱水域界面。所有鳄鱼都进化出了专门的感觉器官(DPR)，可以探测到水的微小干扰。这些细胞呈穹顶状，并与一条专门的神经通路相连。DPR提供了一系列可调谐到二维表面波前的传感器。因此，DPR是研究刺激源定位和特征检测的一个很好的模型系统，因为场景相对简单，刺激很容易重现。这个项目通过检查允许信息传递的解剖底物，并通过使用电生理学来确定神经系统使用的代码，来研究DPR敏感性的心理物理学基础和一般处理规则。这些结果将为理解动物将环境分解并在大脑中重新组装的方式提供洞察力。通过公众讨论、拍摄和咨询，研究非传统动物物种在向公众介绍科学时可能是有利的。该研究计划将这些公共推广机会与研究相结合。该项目为高中生、本科生和研究生以及博士后提供教育机会。行为设置简单，易于操作。因此，对于本科生和高中生等相对缺乏经验的研究人员来说，它特别有吸引力。

How does one find a friend in a crowd? The way in which brains perform scene analysis is still unknown and it turns out to be a difficult problem for scientists to crack. There are many features of the environment that need to be differentially encoded by the nervous system to lead to an appropriate behavior. Crocodilian brains face the same problem as any other animal: localizing a source of interest in a busy background. But for them, the task is perhaps easier and understanding how they do it gives scientists a peak into the general rules of computation that brains use to carry out scene analysis. Crocodilians often hunt in complete darkness, waiting half-submerged for prey to disturb the water interface. All crocodilians have evolved specialized sensory organs (DPRs) that can detect small disruptions of the water. These are dome-like in shape and are linked to a dedicated neural pathway. DPRs provide an array of sensors that are tuned to a two-dimensional surface wave front. DPRs are therefore an excellent model system to study stimulus source location and feature detection because the scene is relatively simple and the stimulus easily reproducible. This project investigates the psychophysical basis of DPR sensitivity and general processing rules by examining the anatomical substrate that allows for the transmission of information, and by using electrophysiology to determine the codes used by the nervous system. The results will provide insights into understanding the ways in which animals take the environment apart and put it back together again in their brains. The study of a non-traditional animal species can be advantageous when introducing science to the general public, through general public talks and filming and consultation. The program of study integrates these public outreach opportunities with the research. This project provides educational opportunities to high school students, undergraduate and graduate students as well as a postdoctoral fellow. The behavioral setup is simple, and easy to operate. Thus, it is particularly attractive for relatively inexperienced researchers such as undergraduates and high school students.