[Faculty] Fwd: [CSRC.COLLOQUIUM] "Models for Propagating Facilitation in the Insect Visual System"

[Jose Castillo]

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DATE:  *Friday, March 13, 2020*



TITLE:

*Models for Propagating Facilitation in the Insect Visual System*


TIME:  *3:00-4:00PM*




LOCATION:
*GMCS 314*




SPEAKER/BIO:


*Dr. **Patrick Shoemaker**, **Research Associate** Professor, * *Computational
Science Research Center**, San Diego State University*





ABSTRACT:

Insects that chase prey or mates on the wing do so under visual guidance.
Small target motion-detecting (STMD) neurons found in the visual pathways
of several flying insects display remarkable selectivity and sensitivity to
small moving targets, and are thought to support these behaviors.
Contributing to their sensitivity is a form of *facilitation*, in which the
responsiveness of an STMD is enhanced by prior exposure to a small target
moving along a continuous path in visual space. The locus of facilitation
in the receptive field is found to be local to the area of the target, and
to continue propagating in the direction of target motion even after a
stimulus ceases. We are modeling this phenomenon with the propagation of
traveling waves in densely interconnected, retinotopic layers of cells. We
hypothesize that waves are initiated and reinforced by presence of a moving
target stimulus, and the network in turn interacts with STMDs to modulate
their excitability. Membrane potentials travel too fast to play this role,
so we are studying *calcium waves* as one possible mechanism. In addition,
electrical signals that are delayed by frequent synapses (interconnections)
with slow kinetics are under consideration.



Host: Jose Castillo

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