Evaluating Scalability of Neural Configurations in Combined Classifier and Attention Models

Author(s):  
Tsvi Achler

The brain’s neuronal circuits that are responsible for recognition and attention are not completely understood. Several potential circuits have been proposed using different mechanisms. These models may vary in the number connection parameters, the meaning of each connection weight, the efficiency, and the ability to scale to larger networks. Explicit analysis of these issues is important because for example, certain models may require an implausible number of connections (greater than available in the brain) in order to process the amount of information the brain can process. Moreover certain classifiers may perform recognition, but may be difficult to efficiently integrate with attention models. In this chapter, some of the limitations and scalability issues are discussed and a class of models that may address them is suggested. The focus is on modeling both recognition and a form attention called biased competition. Models are also explored that are both static and dynamic during recognition.

Author(s):  
Nikolas Rose ◽  
Joelle M. Abi-Rached

This chapter examines the neuromolecular and plastic brain. Ideas about plasticity and the openness of brains to environment influences, from initial evidence about nerve development, through the recognition that synaptic plasticity was the very basis of learning and memory, to evidence about the influence of environment on gene expression and the persistence throughout life of the capacity to make new neurons—all this made the neuromolecular brain seem exquisitely open to its milieu, with changes at the molecular level occurring throughout the course of a human life and thus shaping the growth, organization, and regeneration of neurons and neuronal circuits at time scales from the millisecond to the decade. This was an opportunity to explore the myriad ways in which the milieu got “under the skin,” implying an openness of these molecular processes of the brain to biography, sociality, and culture, and hence perhaps even to history and politics.


Author(s):  
Eric D. Young ◽  
Donata Oertel

Neuronal circuits in the brainstem convert the output of the ear, which carries the acoustic properties of ongoing sound, to a representation of the acoustic environment that can be used by the thalamocortical system. Most important, brainstem circuits reflect the way the brain uses acoustic cues to determine where sounds arise and what they mean. The circuits merge the separate representations of sound in the two ears and stabilize them in the face of disturbances such as loudness fluctuation or background noise. Embedded in these systems are some specialized analyses that are driven by the need to resolve tiny differences in the time and intensity of sounds at the two ears and to resolve rapid temporal fluctuations in sounds like the sequence of notes in music or the sequence of syllables in speech.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ting-hao Huang ◽  
Peter Niesman ◽  
Deepshika Arasu ◽  
Donghyung Lee ◽  
Aubrie L De La Cruz ◽  
...  

Understanding the computations that take place in brain circuits requires identifying how neurons in those circuits are connected to one another. We describe a technique called TRACT (TRAnsneuronal Control of Transcription) based on ligand-induced intramembrane proteolysis to reveal monosynaptic connections arising from genetically labeled neurons of interest. In this strategy, neurons expressing an artificial ligand (‘donor’ neurons) bind to and activate a genetically-engineered artificial receptor on their synaptic partners (‘receiver’ neurons). Upon ligand-receptor binding at synapses the receptor is cleaved in its transmembrane domain and releases a protein fragment that activates transcription in the synaptic partners. Using TRACT in Drosophila we have confirmed the connectivity between olfactory receptor neurons and their postsynaptic targets, and have discovered potential new connections between neurons in the circadian circuit. Our results demonstrate that the TRACT method can be used to investigate the connectivity of neuronal circuits in the brain.


2002 ◽  
Vol 6 (2) ◽  
pp. 153-165 ◽  
Author(s):  
Diego Fernandez-Duque ◽  
Mark L. Johnson

Scientific concepts are defined by metaphors. These metaphors determine what attention is and what count as adequate explanations of the phenomenon. The authors analyze these metaphors within 3 types of attention theories: (a) “cause” theories, in which attention is presumed to modulate information processing (e.g., attention as a spotlight; attention as a limited resource); (b) “effect” theories, in which attention is considered to be a by-product of information processing (e.g., the competition metaphor); and (c) hybrid theories that combine cause and effect aspects (e.g., biased-competition models). The present analysis reveals the crucial role of metaphors in cognitive psychology, neuroscience, and the efforts of scientists to find a resolution to the classic problem of cause versus effect interpretations.


BIOspektrum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 27 (6) ◽  
pp. 588-590
Author(s):  
Zeeshan Mushtaq ◽  
Jan Pielage

AbstractThe precise regulation of synaptic connectivity is essential for the processing of information in the brain. Any aberrant loss of synaptic connectivity due to genetic mutations will disrupt information flow in the nervous system and may represent the underlying cause of psychiatric or neurodegenerative diseases. Therefore, identification of the molecular mechanisms controlling synaptic plasticity and maintenance is essential for our understanding of neuronal circuits in development and disease.


2019 ◽  
Vol 4 (2) ◽  
pp. 16-20
Author(s):  
Volobuev AN ◽  
Romanchuk PI ◽  
Bulgakova SV

Objectives – to highlight the structure, function and localization of Alzheimer’s disease and to specify cognitive impairments related to it. Material and methods. The anatomic data of human brain structure were used. Results. The patterns of memory formation in the brain cortex are investigated. The brain cortex is presented as a type of syncytium consisting of elementary neural structures – cyclic neuronal circuits – memory elements. All cyclic neuronal circuits in a brain cortex are functionally interconnected. The connections between the neuronal circuits can be determined (imprinted) and stochastic (random). The intensity of stochastic communications defines the person's potential for creativity. The impairment of cyclic neuronal circuit connections results in either Alzheimer’s disease or in senile dementia of Alzheimer’s type. Conclusion. In case the cortex is considered as the syncytium, the memory storage element, it can be the reason of the human creativity. It is shown that the failure of the information transfer in the cortex syncytium or neurons destruction in the neuronal network results in Alzheimer’s disease or in senile dementia of Alzheimer’s type.


eLife ◽  
2017 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Jercog ◽  
Alex Roxin ◽  
Peter Barthó ◽  
Artur Luczak ◽  
Albert Compte ◽  
...  

In the idling brain, neuronal circuits transition between periods of sustained firing (UP state) and quiescence (DOWN state), a pattern the mechanisms of which remain unclear. Here we analyzed spontaneous cortical population activity from anesthetized rats and found that UP and DOWN durations were highly variable and that population rates showed no significant decay during UP periods. We built a network rate model with excitatory (E) and inhibitory (I) populations exhibiting a novel bistable regime between a quiescent and an inhibition-stabilized state of arbitrarily low rate. Fluctuations triggered state transitions, while adaptation in E cells paradoxically caused a marginal decay of E-rate but a marked decay of I-rate in UP periods, a prediction that we validated experimentally. A spiking network implementation further predicted that DOWN-to-UP transitions must be caused by synchronous high-amplitude events. Our findings provide evidence of bistable cortical networks that exhibit non-rhythmic state transitions when the brain rests.


e-Neuroforum ◽  
2018 ◽  
Vol 24 (1) ◽  
pp. A19-A29 ◽  
Author(s):  
Siegrid Löwel ◽  
Evgenia Kalogeraki ◽  
Susanne Dehmel ◽  
Kalina Makowiecki

AbstractDuring development, experience continuously interacts with genetic information to shape and optimize neuronal circuits and behaviour. Therefore, environmental conditions have a powerful impact on the brain. To date, accumulating evidence shows that raising animals in a so-called “enriched environment” elicits remarkable effects on the brain across molecular, anatomical, and functional levels when compared to animals raised in a “standard cage” environment. In our article, we provide a brief review of the field and illustrate the different results of “enriched” versus standard cage-raised rodents with examples from visual system plasticity. We also briefly discuss parallel studies of enrichment effects in humans. Collectively, these data highlight that results should always be considered in the context of the animals’ environment.


2007 ◽  
Vol 30 (1-3) ◽  
pp. 59-64 ◽  
Author(s):  
Michiel T. van Diepen ◽  
Britta J. Eickholt
Keyword(s):  

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