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Full-Text Articles in Neuroscience and Neurobiology
The Impact Of Cortical State On Neural Coding And Behavior, Charles Beaman
The Impact Of Cortical State On Neural Coding And Behavior, Charles Beaman
Dissertations & Theses (Open Access)
The brain is never truly silent – up to 80% of its energy budget is expended during ongoing activity in the absence of sensory input. Previous research has shown that sensory neurons are not exclusively influenced by external stimuli but rather reflect interactions between sensory inputs and the ongoing activity of the brain. Yet, whether fluctuations in the state of cortical networks influence sensory coding in neural circuits and the behavior of the animal are unknown. To shed light on this issue, we conducted multi-unit electrophysiology experiments in visual areas V1 and V4 of behaving monkeys. First, we studied the …
Experimental And Computational Studies Of Cortical Neural Network Properties Through Signal Processing, Wesley Patrick Clawson
Experimental And Computational Studies Of Cortical Neural Network Properties Through Signal Processing, Wesley Patrick Clawson
Graduate Theses and Dissertations
Previous studies, both theoretical and experimental, of network level dynamics in the cerebral cortex show evidence for a statistical phenomenon called criticality; a phenomenon originally studied in the context of phase transitions in physical systems and that is associated with favorable information processing in the context of the brain. The focus of this thesis is to expand upon past results with new experimentation and modeling to show a relationship between criticality and the ability to detect and discriminate sensory input. A line of theoretical work predicts maximal sensory discrimination as a functional benefit of criticality, which can then be characterized …