Analysis Of Space-Time Receptive Fields Of Silicon-Based Ganglion And Cortical Cells In The Physiologist’S Friend Chip Using Matlab Software
School Name
South Carolina Governor's School for Science and Mathematics
Grade Level
12th Grade
Presentation Topic
Cell and Molecular Biology
Presentation Type
Mentored
Abstract
It has been known for decades that individual neurons in the brain respond selectively to distinct types of sensory or motor information. For instance, in the visual processing areas, some brain cells respond only to stimuli presented at a specific orientation while other cells respond to stimuli moving in a particular direction. Such feature selectivity of a retinal neuron’s receptive field is presumed to be static meaning that it does not change over time. However, our sensory perception is dynamic, adapting within tens of milliseconds to the ever-changing environment. The hypothesis of this research is that the neural basis for the dynamics of sensory perception partially emerges from the dynamics of individual neural responses. With a natural eye, it is difficult to test this hypothesis, and even modern neuroscience textbooks describe receptive fields only by their spatial properties. This research will test the above hypothesis by using the Physiologist’s Friend Chip to produce action potentials based on the stimuli it is presented. The stimuli will be computer controlled using the Bar and Wave V7.6.5 program. The three aims of this research include a) comparing the size of the center and antagonistic surround of retinal receptive fields; b) determining if the retinal receptive fields peak at the same time; and c) demonstrating whether the orientation selectivity of cortical neurons is sufficiently accounted for by an elongated receptive field. This research supported the hypotheses that the chip functions similarly to a natural eye.
Recommended Citation
Pax, Carla Jane, "Analysis Of Space-Time Receptive Fields Of Silicon-Based Ganglion And Cortical Cells In The Physiologist’S Friend Chip Using Matlab Software" (2015). South Carolina Junior Academy of Science. 12.
https://scholarexchange.furman.edu/scjas/2015/all/12
Start Date
4-11-2015 10:00 AM
End Date
4-11-2015 10:15 AM
Analysis Of Space-Time Receptive Fields Of Silicon-Based Ganglion And Cortical Cells In The Physiologist’S Friend Chip Using Matlab Software
It has been known for decades that individual neurons in the brain respond selectively to distinct types of sensory or motor information. For instance, in the visual processing areas, some brain cells respond only to stimuli presented at a specific orientation while other cells respond to stimuli moving in a particular direction. Such feature selectivity of a retinal neuron’s receptive field is presumed to be static meaning that it does not change over time. However, our sensory perception is dynamic, adapting within tens of milliseconds to the ever-changing environment. The hypothesis of this research is that the neural basis for the dynamics of sensory perception partially emerges from the dynamics of individual neural responses. With a natural eye, it is difficult to test this hypothesis, and even modern neuroscience textbooks describe receptive fields only by their spatial properties. This research will test the above hypothesis by using the Physiologist’s Friend Chip to produce action potentials based on the stimuli it is presented. The stimuli will be computer controlled using the Bar and Wave V7.6.5 program. The three aims of this research include a) comparing the size of the center and antagonistic surround of retinal receptive fields; b) determining if the retinal receptive fields peak at the same time; and c) demonstrating whether the orientation selectivity of cortical neurons is sufficiently accounted for by an elongated receptive field. This research supported the hypotheses that the chip functions similarly to a natural eye.
Mentor
Mentor: Prakash Kara, Department of Neurosciences, Medical University of South Carolina