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Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch
Behaving in the real world requires flexibly combining and maintaining information about both continuous and discrete variables. In the visual domain, several lines of evidence show that neurons in some cortical networks can simultaneously represent information about the position and identity of obj...
Autores principales: | , |
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Formato: | Texto |
Lenguaje: | English |
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Public Library of Science
2008
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Materias: | |
Acceso en línea: | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2268242/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18369416 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000012 |
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author | Roudi, Yasser Treves, Alessandro |
author_facet | Roudi, Yasser Treves, Alessandro |
author_sort | Roudi, Yasser |
collection | PubMed |
description | Behaving in the real world requires flexibly combining and maintaining information about both continuous and discrete variables. In the visual domain, several lines of evidence show that neurons in some cortical networks can simultaneously represent information about the position and identity of objects, and maintain this combined representation when the object is no longer present. The underlying network mechanism for this combined representation is, however, unknown. In this paper, we approach this issue through a theoretical analysis of recurrent networks. We present a model of a cortical network that can retrieve information about the identity of objects from incomplete transient cues, while simultaneously representing their spatial position. Our results show that two factors are important in making this possible: A) a metric organisation of the recurrent connections, and B) a spatially localised change in the linear gain of neurons. Metric connectivity enables a localised retrieval of information about object identity, while gain modulation ensures localisation in the correct position. Importantly, we find that the amount of information that the network can retrieve and retain about identity is strongly affected by the amount of information it maintains about position. This balance can be controlled by global signals that change the neuronal gain. These results show that anatomical and physiological properties, which have long been known to characterise cortical networks, naturally endow them with the ability to maintain a conjunctive representation of the identity and location of objects. |
format | Text |
id | pubmed-2268242 |
institution | National Center for Biotechnology Information |
language | English |
publishDate | 2008 |
publisher | Public Library of Science |
record_format | MEDLINE/PubMed |
spelling | pubmed-22682422008-03-21 Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch Roudi, Yasser Treves, Alessandro PLoS Comput Biol Research Article Behaving in the real world requires flexibly combining and maintaining information about both continuous and discrete variables. In the visual domain, several lines of evidence show that neurons in some cortical networks can simultaneously represent information about the position and identity of objects, and maintain this combined representation when the object is no longer present. The underlying network mechanism for this combined representation is, however, unknown. In this paper, we approach this issue through a theoretical analysis of recurrent networks. We present a model of a cortical network that can retrieve information about the identity of objects from incomplete transient cues, while simultaneously representing their spatial position. Our results show that two factors are important in making this possible: A) a metric organisation of the recurrent connections, and B) a spatially localised change in the linear gain of neurons. Metric connectivity enables a localised retrieval of information about object identity, while gain modulation ensures localisation in the correct position. Importantly, we find that the amount of information that the network can retrieve and retain about identity is strongly affected by the amount of information it maintains about position. This balance can be controlled by global signals that change the neuronal gain. These results show that anatomical and physiological properties, which have long been known to characterise cortical networks, naturally endow them with the ability to maintain a conjunctive representation of the identity and location of objects. Public Library of Science 2008-03-21 /pmc/articles/PMC2268242/ /pubmed/18369416 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000012 Text en Roudi Y, Treves A. |
spellingShingle | Research Article Roudi, Yasser Treves, Alessandro Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch |
title | Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch |
title_full | Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch |
title_fullStr | Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch |
title_full_unstemmed | Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch |
title_short | Representing Where along with What Information in a Model of a Cortical Patch |
title_sort | representing where along with what information in a model of a cortical patch |
topic | Research Article |
url | https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2268242/ https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pubmed/18369416 http://dx.doi.org/10.1371/journal.pcbi.1000012 |
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