Overview

The transformations implemented by early sensory relays are central to the brain's ability to experience the vast bandwidth of raw sensory data as meaningful percepts. Studies of these early sensory relays have provided invaluable insight into many fundamental operating principles of the nervous system. While the neurons that comprise sensory circuits are complex dynamical entities, many studies of these systems have progressed on the premise that their core function is well-approximated by steady-state measurements or with reference to canonical dynamical end states such as limit cycles. This view has been particularly prevalent and successful in vision and audition. However, it is likely that the ongoing intrinsic dynamics of the nervous system are central to the emergence of coherent behaviour. Consequently, there is pressing need to understand the temporally extended dynamics of neural systems.

In contrast to the vision and audition, olfaction is an intrinsically dynamic sense. The rich temporal dynamics present in the olfactory system allow animals to experience complexly structured plumes of different combinations of chemicals as individual olfactory percepts. Consequently, the olfactory system provides the perfect early sensory relay to explore the dynamic phenomena at the heart of the operation of the nervous system.

In this workshop we focus on two topics where recent work in olfaction has shed light on the nature and mechanisms of neural representations in the nervous system.

First, we examine how odour identity is encoded in the population rate activity of the olfactory system. We discuss whether odour identities are best described by discrete or smooth representations. We discuss what kind of dynamics metaphor can best capture this phenomena, attractor neural networks, heteroclinic orbits or FP dynamics.

Second we discuss insight in to the nature and role stimulus evoked neural oscillations that have been developed through studies of the olfactory system. We discus the origin and structure of these oscillations, their relation to the input stimulus and their role in odour encoding."

List of Confirmed Speakers

This workshop is organised in the framework of the CNS*2012 conference in Atlanta/Decatur and the workshop registration fee applies.