scholarly journals Collective search with finite perception: transient dynamics and search efficiency

2018 ◽  
Author(s):  
Adam Gosztolai ◽  
Jose A. Carrillo ◽  
Mauricio Barahona
Keyword(s):  
Optimal Control Theory ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Transient Dynamics ◽  
Search Efficiency ◽  
Transient Time ◽  
Response Sensitivity ◽  
Collective Sensing ◽  
Standard Models

Motile organisms often use finite spatial perception of their surroundings to navigate and search their habitats. Yet standard models of search are usually based on purely local sensory information. To model how a finite perceptual horizon affects ecological search, we propose a framework for optimal navigation that combines concepts from random walks and optimal control theory. We show that, while local strategies are optimal on asymptotically long and short search times, finite perception yields faster convergence and increased search efficiency over transient time scales relevant in biological systems. The benefit of the finite horizon can be maintained by the searchers tuning their response sensitivity to the length scale of the stimulant in the environment, and is enhanced when the agents interact as a result of increased consensus within subpopulations. Our framework sheds light on the role of spatial perception and transients in search movement and collective sensing of the environment.

Pulvino-cortical interaction: an integrative role in the control of attention

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexia Bourgeois ◽  
Carole Guedj ◽  
Emmanuel Carrera ◽  
Patrik Vuilleumier
Keyword(s):  
Executive Control ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Cortical Circuits ◽  
Attention And Executive Control ◽  
Neural Communication ◽  
Subcortical Regions ◽  
Theoretical Proposal ◽  
Selection Of

Selective attention is a fundamental cognitive function that guides behavior by selecting and prioritizing salient or relevant sensory information of our environment. Despite early evidence and theoretical proposal pointing to an implication of thalamic control in attention, most studies in the past two decades focused on cortical substrates, largely ignoring the contribution of subcortical regions as well as cortico-subcortical interactions. Here, we suggest a key role of the pulvinar in the selection of salient and relevant information via its involvement in priority maps computation. Prioritization may be achieved through a pulvinar- mediated generation of alpha oscillations, which may then modulate neuronal gain in thalamo-cortical circuits. Such mechanism might orchestrate the synchrony of cortico-cortical interaction, by rendering neural communication more effective, precise and selective. We propose that this theoretical framework will support a timely shift from the prevailing cortico- centric view of cognition to a more integrative perspective of thalamic contributions to attention and executive control processes.

scholarly journals Loss of Calretinin in L5a impairs the formation of the barrel cortex leading to abnormal whisker-mediated behaviors

2021 ◽  
Vol 14 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingzhao Su ◽  
Junhua Liu ◽  
Baocong Yu ◽  
Kaixing Zhou ◽  
Congli Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Membrane Excitability ◽  
Novelty Preference ◽  
Layer 4 ◽  
Dendritic Complexity ◽  
Cortex System

AbstractThe rodent whisker-barrel cortex system has been established as an ideal model for studying sensory information integration. The barrel cortex consists of barrel and septa columns that receive information input from the lemniscal and paralemniscal pathways, respectively. Layer 5a is involved in both barrel and septa circuits and play a key role in information integration. However, the role of layer 5a in the development of the barrel cortex remains unclear. Previously, we found that calretinin is dynamically expressed in layer 5a. In this study, we analyzed calretinin KO mice and found that the dendritic complexity and length of layer 5a pyramidal neurons were significantly decreased after calretinin ablation. The membrane excitability and excitatory synaptic transmission of layer 5a neurons were increased. Consequently, the organization of the barrels was impaired. Moreover, layer 4 spiny stellate cells were not able to properly gather, leading to abnormal formation of barrel walls as the ratio of barrel/septum size obviously decreased. Calretinin KO mice exhibited deficits in exploratory and whisker-associated tactile behaviors as well as social novelty preference. Our study expands our knowledge of layer 5a pyramidal neurons in the formation of barrel walls and deepens the understanding of the development of the whisker-barrel cortex system.

scholarly journals The Role of Purinergic Receptors in Cancer-Induced Bone Pain

2012 ◽  
Vol 2012 ◽  
pp. 1-12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Sarah Falk ◽  
Maria Uldall ◽  
Anne-Marie Heegaard
Keyword(s):  
Inflammatory Pain ◽  
Bone Pain ◽  
Purinergic Receptors ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Cellular Mechanisms ◽  
Pain State ◽  
Current Therapies ◽  
Peripheral Site

Cancer-induced bone pain severely compromises the quality of life of many patients suffering from bone metastasis, as current therapies leave some patients with inadequate pain relief. The recent development of specific animal models has increased the understanding of the molecular and cellular mechanisms underlying cancer-induced bone pain including the involvement of ATP and the purinergic receptors in the progression of the pain state. In nociception, ATP acts as an extracellular messenger to transmit sensory information both at the peripheral site of tissue damage and in the spinal cord. Several of the purinergic receptors have been shown to be important for the development and maintenance of neuropathic and inflammatory pain, and studies have demonstrated the importance of both peripheral and central mechanisms. We here provide an overview of the current literature on the role of purinergic receptors in cancer-induced bone pain with emphasis on some of the difficulties related to studying this complex pain state.

scholarly journals The effect of visual salience on memory-based choices

2014 ◽  
Vol 111 (3) ◽  
pp. 481-487 ◽  
Author(s):  
Arezoo Pooresmaeili ◽  
Dominik R. Bach ◽  
Raymond J. Dolan
Keyword(s):  
Working Memory ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Relevant Information ◽  
Visual Selective Attention ◽  
Visual Salience ◽  
Perceptual Decision Making ◽  
Capacity Limitations ◽  
Course Of Action ◽  
Task Irrelevant

Deciding whether a stimulus is the “same” or “different” from a previous presented one involves integrating among the incoming sensory information, working memory, and perceptual decision making. Visual selective attention plays a crucial role in selecting the relevant information that informs a subsequent course of action. Previous studies have mainly investigated the role of visual attention during the encoding phase of working memory tasks. In this study, we investigate whether manipulation of bottom-up attention by changing stimulus visual salience impacts on later stages of memory-based decisions. In two experiments, we asked subjects to identify whether a stimulus had either the same or a different feature to that of a memorized sample. We manipulated visual salience of the test stimuli by varying a task-irrelevant feature contrast. Subjects chose a visually salient item more often when they looked for matching features and less often so when they looked for a nonmatch. This pattern of results indicates that salient items are more likely to be identified as a match. We interpret the findings in terms of capacity limitations at a comparison stage where a visually salient item is more likely to exhaust resources leading it to be prematurely parsed as a match.

scholarly journals Paradox of integration — mean field approach

2017 ◽  
Vol 28 (11) ◽  
pp. 1750133 ◽  
Author(s):  
Krzysztof Kułakowski ◽  
Piotr Gronek ◽  
Alfio Borzì
Keyword(s):  
Social Status ◽  
Positive Emotions ◽  
Mean Field ◽  
Computational Approach ◽  
Transient Time ◽  
Field Approach ◽  
The Social ◽  
The Mean ◽  
High Social Status

Recently, a computational model has been proposed of the social integration, as described in sociological terms by Blau. In this model, actors praise or critique each other, and these actions influence their social status and raise negative or positive emotions. The role of a self-deprecating strategy of actors with high social status has also been discussed there. Here, we develop a mean field approach, where the active and passive roles (praising and being praised, etc.) are decoupled. The phase transition from friendly to hostile emotions has been reproduced, similarly to the previously applied purely computational approach. For both phases, we investigate the time dependence of the distribution of social status. There we observe a diffusive spread, which — after some transient time — appears to be limited from below or from above, depending on the phase. As a consequence, the mean status flows.

Load-Regulating Mechanisms in Gait and Posture: Comparative Aspects

2000 ◽  
Vol 80 (1) ◽  
pp. 83-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. Duysens ◽  
F. Clarac ◽  
H. Cruse
Keyword(s):  
Functional Role ◽  
Stance Phase ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Specific Load ◽  
Afferent Activity ◽  
Basic Principles ◽  
Load Sensing ◽  
The Central Nervous System

How is load sensed by receptors, and how is this sensory information used to guide locomotion? Many insights in this domain have evolved from comparative studies since it has been realized that basic principles concerning load sensing and regulation can be found in a wide variety of animals, both vertebrate and invertebrate. Feedback about load is not only derived from specific load receptors but also from other types of receptors that previously were thought to have other functions. In the central nervous system of many species, a convergence is found between specific and nonspecific load receptors. Furthermore, feedback from load receptors onto central circuits involved in the generation of rhythmic locomotor output is commonly found. During the stance phase, afferent activity from various load detectors can activate the extensor part in such circuits, thereby providing reinforcing force feedback. At the same time, the flexion is suppressed. The functional role of this arrangement is that activity in antigravity muscles is promoted while the onset of the next flexion is delayed as long as the limb is loaded. This type of reinforcing force feedback is present during gait but absent in the immoble resting animal.

scholarly journals Abstract Concepts in Grounded Cognition

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daniel Lakens
Keyword(s):  
Sensory Information ◽  
Grounded Cognition ◽  
Abstract Concepts ◽  
Auditory Space ◽  
Conceptual Processing ◽  
Conceptual Thought ◽  
Cognitive Revolution ◽  
Perceptual Characteristics

In the present dissertation, I examine the role of sensory information for abstract conceptual thought. In Chapter 1, the central assumptions in grounded approaches to cognition are introduced and contrasted with more traditional views on the representation of concepts expressed by cognitive researchers since the cognitive revolution in psychology. The three empirical chapters of this thesis focus on how morality, time, and valence are grounded in perceptual symmetry, left-right auditory space, and brightness, respectively. Together, these chapters show that perceptual information influences abstract conceptual processing, even for highly abstract concepts that lack perceptual characteristics.

scholarly journals Loss of Calretinin in L5a Impairs the Formation of the Barrel Cortex Leading to Abnormal Behaviors

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Mingzhao Su ◽  
Junhua Liu ◽  
Baocong Yu ◽  
Kaixing Zhou ◽  
Congli Sun ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Information Integration ◽  
Pyramidal Neurons ◽  
Barrel Cortex ◽  
Sensory Information ◽  
Membrane Excitability ◽  
Novelty Preference ◽  
Abnormal Behaviors ◽  
Dendritic Complexity ◽  
Cortex System

Abstract The rodent whisker-barrel cortex system has been established as an ideal model for studying sensory information integration. The barrel cortex consists of barrel and septa columns that receive information input from the lemniscal and paralemniscal pathways, respectively. L5a is involved in both barrel and septa circuits and play a key role in information integration. However, the role of L5a in the development of the barrel cortex remains unclear. Previously, we found that Calretinin is dynamically expressed in L5a. In this study, we analyzed Cr KO mice and found that the dendritic complexity and length of L5a pyramidal neurons were significantly decreased after Cr ablation. The membrane excitability and excitatory synaptic transmission of L5a neurons were increased. Consequently, the organization of the barrels was impaired. Moreover, L4 spiny stellate cells were not able to properly gather, leading to abnormal formation of barrel walls as the ratio of barrel/septum size obviously decreased. Cr KO mice exhibited deficits in exploratory and whisker-associated tactile behaviors as well as social novelty preference. Our study expands our knowledge of L5a pyramidal neurons in the formation of barrel walls and deepens the understanding of the development of the whisker-barrel cortex system.

scholarly journals The Role of Textualisation and Argumentation in Understanding the Machine Learning Process

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kacper Sokol ◽  
Peter Flach
Keyword(s):  
Machine Learning ◽  
Predictive Accuracy ◽  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Black Box ◽  
High Dimensional ◽  
Box Models ◽  
Machine Learning Applications ◽  
Black Box Models ◽  
Machine Learning Models

Understanding data, models and predictions is important for machine learning applications. Due to the limitations of our spatial perception and intuition, analysing high-dimensional data is inherently difficult. Furthermore, black-box models achieving high predictive accuracy are widely used, yet the logic behind their predictions is often opaque. Use of textualisation -- a natural language narrative of selected phenomena -- can tackle these shortcomings. When extended with argumentation theory we could envisage machine learning models and predictions arguing persuasively for their choices.

A Preliminary Study on the Role of Movement Imagery in Spatial Perception

2014 ◽  
pp. 383-395 ◽  
Author(s):  
Margaret R. Tarampi ◽  
Michael N. Geuss ◽  
Jeanine K. Stefanucci ◽  
Sarah H. Creem-Regehr
Keyword(s):  
Spatial Perception ◽  
Movement Imagery ◽  
Preliminary Study
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