Publications (45) View all
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Dataset: 2009 - Selverston et al. - Frontiers in neural circuits
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Article: Bio-inspired solutions to the challenges of chemical sensing.
Frontiers in Neuroengineering 01/2012; 5:24. -
Article: Neural sensitivity to odorants in deprived and normal olfactory bulbs.
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ABSTRACT: Early olfactory deprivation in rodents is accompanied by an homeostatic regulation of the synaptic connectivity in the olfactory bulb (OB). However, its consequences in the neural sensitivity and discrimination have not been elucidated. We compared the odorant sensitivity and discrimination in early sensory deprived and normal OBs in anesthetized rats. We show that the deprived OB exhibits an increased sensitivity to different odorants when compared to the normal OB. Our results indicate that early olfactory stimulation enhances discriminability of the olfactory stimuli. We found that deprived olfactory bulbs adjusts the overall excitatory and inhibitory mitral cells (MCs) responses to odorants but the receptive fields become wider than in the normal olfactory bulbs. Taken together, these results suggest that an early natural sensory stimulation sharpens the receptor fields resulting in a larger discrimination capability. These results are consistent with previous evidence that a varied experience with odorants modulates the OB's synaptic connections and increases MCs selectivity.PLoS ONE 01/2013; 8(4):e60745. · 4.09 Impact Factor -
Article: Robust microcircuit synchronization by inhibitory connections.
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ABSTRACT: Microcircuits in different brain areas share similar architectural and biophysical properties with compact motor networks known as central pattern generators (CPGs). Consequently, CPGs have been suggested as valuable biological models for understanding of microcircuit dynamics and particularly, their synchronization. We use a well known compact motor network, the lobster pyloric CPG to study principles of intercircuit synchronization. We couple separate pyloric circuits obtained from two animals via artificial synapses and observe how their synchronization depends on the topology and kinetic parameters of the computer-generated synapses. Stable in-phase synchronization appears when electrically coupling the pacemaker groups of the two networks, but reciprocal inhibitory connections produce more robust and regular cooperative activity. Contralateral inhibitory connections offer effective synchronization and flexible setting of the burst phases of the interacting networks. We also show that a conductance-based mathematical model of the coupled circuits correctly reproduces the observed dynamics illustrating the generality of the phenomena.Neuron 03/2009; 61(3):439-53. · 14.74 Impact Factor -
Article: Winnerless competition principle and prediction of the transient dynamics in a Lotka-Volterra model.
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ABSTRACT: Predicting the evolution of multispecies ecological systems is an intriguing problem. A sufficiently complex model with the necessary predicting power requires solutions that are structurally stable. Small variations of the system parameters should not qualitatively perturb its solutions. When one is interested in just asymptotic results of evolution (as time goes to infinity), then the problem has a straightforward mathematical image involving simple attractors (fixed points or limit cycles) of a dynamical system. However, for an accurate prediction of evolution, the analysis of transient solutions is critical. In this paper, in the framework of the traditional Lotka-Volterra model (generalized in some sense), we show that the transient solution representing multispecies sequential competition can be reproducible and predictable with high probability.Chaos (Woodbury, N.Y.) 01/2009; 18(4):043103. · 1.80 Impact Factor
