Achievement

How are visual and attention-related neural representations integrated and processed within intricate neocortical microcircuits? To address this question, MBC Trainee Nick Steinmetz performs experiments using sophisticated electrode arrays that allow him to record from multiple neural populations within these microcircuits simultaneously in vivo, while the animal subject performs difficult perceptual tasks. He combines these recordings, made in the lab of Dr. Tirin Moore of Neurobiology, with large-scale simulations of biologically realistic network models built on the "neuromorphic" in silico simulation platform of Dr. Kwabena Boahen, Bioengineering. The experimental recordings constrain the parameters of the models, which in turn predict features of the operation of the brain. Together, these approaches lead to a more detailed understanding of the way the neocortex integrates information and achieves vision.