Receptor Costs Determine Retinal Design
Our group is interested in discovering design principles that govern the structure and function of neurons and neural circuits. We record from well-defined neurons, mainly in flies’ visual systems, to measure the molecular and cellular factors that determine relevant measures of performance, such as representational capacity, dynamic range and accuracy. We combine this empirical approach with modelling to see how the basic elements of neural systems (ion channels, second messengers systems, membranes, synapses, neurons, circuits and codes) combine to determine performance. We are investigating four general problems. How are circuits designed to integrate information efficiently? How do sensory adaptation and synaptic plasticity contribute to efficiency? How do the sizes of neurons and networks relate to energy consumption and representational capacity? To what extent have energy costs shaped neurons, sense organs and brain regions during evolution?
Differential Resilience of Neurons and Networks with Similar Behavior to Perturbation. (Simultaneous translation to Spanish)
Both computational and experimental results in single neurons and small networks demonstrate that very similar network function can result from quite disparate sets of neuronal and network parameters. Using the crustacean stomatogastric nervous system, we study the influence of these differences in underlying structure on differential resilience of individuals to a variety of environmental perturbations, including changes in temperature, pH, potassium concentration and neuromodulation. We show that neurons with many different kinds of ion channels can smoothly move through different mechanisms in generating their activity patterns, thus extending their dynamic range. The talk will be simultaneously translated to spanish by the interpreter Liliana Viera, MSc. Los resultados tanto computacionales como experimentales en neuronas individuales y redes pequeñas demuestran que funcionamientos de redes muy similares pueden pueden resultar de conjuntos bastante dispares de parámetros neuronales y de las redes. Utilizando el sistema nervioso estomatogástrico de los crustáceos, estudiamos la influencia de estas diferencias en la estructura subyacente en la resistencia diferencial de los individuos a una variedad de perturbaciones ambientales, incluidos los cambios de temperatura, pH, concentración de potasio y neuromodulación. Mostramos que neuronas con muchos tipos diferentes de canales iónicos pueden moverse suavemente a través de diferentes mecanismos para generar sus patrones de actividad, extendiendo así su rango dinámico. La conferencia será traducida simultáneamente al español por la intérprete Liliana Viera MSc.