G80/89.2202
Sensory and Motor Systems
Spring 2010
Tuesdays & Thursdays
9:30 am - 11:50
Downtown: Meyer Hall (6 Washington Place), room 815
Uptown: Medical Science Building (550 First Ave), room 452 on Tuesdays. Smilow 5th floor conference room on Thursdays
Last updated: May 3, 2010
Squire LR, Berg D, Bloom FE, du Lac S, Ghosh A, Spitzer NC (2008). Fundamental Neuroscience (third edition). San Diego: Academic Press.
The readings are available online by following the links provided below. Some of the readings are labelled as being "secondary readings". We strongly encourage you to read all of the papers but for some topics, there are quite a few papers assigned. Unfortunately, there is no single review paper that covers all of the relevant material. At the same time, we do not expect you to read every word of it. Because of the overwhelming amount of scientific literature in every sub-area of neuroscience, you need to develop a skill for rapidly scanning the literature to get the basics, and then be able to go back as needed to get the details. For those topics that have a long reading list, you should look through each of the "secondary readings" to see what's there, read the abstract & intro, look at the figures and figure captions. This is the same as what you should do when exploring the literature in your area of research. Then, based on your interests and what you feel you need to know, you can pick and choose which of these "secondary readings" to read in more detail.
To download the lecture slides and some of the readings, you will need to type a username and a password because of copyright protection, which will be given to you in class.
For the rest of the readings, the links will take you to the NYU library to access the electronic journals online. If you are on campus, you will then be able to go directly to the online electronic journal. If you are off campus, then you will be redirected through the library's proxy server where you will enter your netID and NYUhome password.
downtownRetina (Bloomfield) Text: Squire Ch 22 & 27
Primary readings:
- Westheimer G (2007). The ON-OFF dichotomy in visual processing: from receptors to perception. Progress in Retinal and Eye Research 26:636-648.
- Bloomfield SA (2009). Retinal amacrine cells. In: Squire, L.R. (ed.) Encyclopedia of Neuroscience Vol. 8, pp. 171-179. Oxford: Academic Press.
- Taylor WR & Vaney DI (2003). New directions in retinal research. Trends in Neuroscience 26:379-385.
Secondary readings:
- Dacey DM (2000). Parallel pathways for spectral coding in primate retina. Annual Review of Neuroscience 23:743-775.
downtownLGN & V1 functional architecture (Shapley) Text: Squire Ch 27
Primary readings:
- Angelucci A, Levitt JB, Walton EJ, Hupe JM, Bullier J, Lund JS (2002). Circuits for local and global signal integration in primary visual cortex. J Neurosci 22:8633-8646.
- Lund JS, Angelucci A, Bressloff PC (2003). Anatomical substrates for functional columns in macaque monkey primary visual cortex. Cereb Cortex 13:15-24.
- Ohki K, Chung S, Kara P, Huebener M, Bonhoeffer T, & Reid RC (2006). Highly order arrangement of single neurons in orientation pinwheels. Nature 442:925-928.
Secondary readings:
- Chatterjee S, Callaway EM (2003). Parallel colour-opponent pathways to primary visual cortex. Nature 426:668-671.
- Sincich LC & Horton JC (2005). The circuitry of V1 and V2: integration of color, form, and motion. Ann Rev Neurosci 28:303-326.
downtownLGN & V1 physiology (Shapley) Text: Squire Ch 27
Readings:
- DeValois R & DeValois K (1988). Spatial Vision, Oxford, Ch 4.
- Somers DC, Nelson SB, Sur M. (1995). An emergent model of orientation selectivity in cat visual cortical simple cells. J Neurosci 15:5448-5465.
- Shapley R, Hawken M, Xing D (2007). The dynamics of visual responses in the primary visual cortex. Prog Brain Res 165:21-32.
- Tao L, Shelley M, McLaughlin D, Shapley R (2004). An egalitarian network model for the emergence of simple and complex cells in visual cortex. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 101:366-371.
downtownV1 theory & computation (Movshon) Text: Squire Ch 27
Primary readings:
- Adelson EA & Bergen JR (1985). Spatiotemporal energy models for the perception of motion. Journal of the Optical Society of America A 2:284-299.
- Heeger DJ, Simoncelli EP, Movshon JA (1996). Computational models of cortical visual processing. PNAS 93:623-627.
Secondary readings:
- Carandini M, Heeger DJ, Movshon JA (1997). Linearity and normalization in simple cells of the macaque primary visual cortex. J Neurosci 17:8621-8644.
- Cavanaugh JR, Bair W, Movshon JA (2002). Nature and interaction of signals from the receptive field center and surround in macaque V1 neurons. J Neurophysiol 88:2530-2546
- Lennie P, Movshon JA (2005). Coding of color and form in the geniculostriate visual pathway (invited review). J. Opt. Soc. Am. A 88:2015-2033
- Adelson EH, Bergen JR (1991). The Plenoptic Function and the Elements of Early Vision. Computational Models of Visual Processing, MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), 3-22
downtownExtrastriate visual cortex (Movshon) Text: Squire Chs 27, 46 & 48
Primary readings:
- Wandell BA, Dumoulin SO, Brewer AA (2007). Visual field maps in human cortex. Neuron 56:366-383.
- DiCarlo JJ and Cox DD (2007). Untangling invariant object recognition. Trends Cogn Sci 11:333-341.
Secondary readings:
- Livingstone MS & Hubel DH (1988). Segregation of form, color, movement and depth: anatomy, physiology and perception. Science 240:740-749.
- Van Essen DC, Anderson CH, Felleman DJ (1992). Information processing in the primate visual system: an integrated systems perspective. Science 24:419-423.
- Merigan W & Maunsell JHR (1993). How parallel are the primate visual pathways? Ann Rev Neurosci 16:369-402.
- Sincich LC & Horton JC (2005). The circuitry of V1 adn V2: integration of color, form, and motion. Ann Rev Neurosci 28:303-326.
- Pasupathy A & Connor CE (2002). Popluation coding of shape in area V4. Nat Neurosci 5:1332-1338.
- Brincat & Connor (2004). Underlying principles of visual shape selectivity in posterior inferotemporal cortex. Nat Neurosci 7:880-886
- Tsao et al. (2006). A cortical region consisting entirely of face-selective cells. Science 311:670-674.
downtownTheories of encoding of sensory information (Simoncelli)
Readings:
- Barlow (1961). Possible principles underlying the transformation of sensory messages. in Sensory Communication (WA Rossenblith, ed), MIT Press.
- Olshausen BA & Field DJ (1996). Emergence of simple-cell receptive field properties by learning a sparse code for natural images. Nature 381:607-609.
- Schwartz O & Simoncelli EP (2001). Natural signal statistics and sensory gain control. Nat Neurosci 4:819-825.
Outline (2007)
downtownTheories of decoding of sensory information (Simoncelli)
Readings:
- Adelson EH & Movshon JA (1982). Phenomenal coherence of moving visual patterns. Nature, 300:523-525.
- Weiss Y, Simoncelli EP, Adelson EH (2002). Motion illusions as optimal percepts. Nature Neuroscience, 5:598-2002.
Outline (2007)
Assignment #1 due
downtownPerceptual decision making (Movshon)
Primary readings:
- Gold JI & Shadlen MN (2007). The neural basis of decision making, Ann Rev Neurosci 30:535-574.
Secondary readings:
- Britten et al. (1996). A relationship between behavioral choice and the visual responses of neurons in macaque MT. Vis Neurosci 13:87-100.
- Chowdury and DeAngelis (2008). Fine discrimination training alters the causal contribution of macaque area MT to depth perception. Neuron 60:367-377.
- Shadlen et al. (1996). A computational analysis of the relationship between neuronal and behavioral responses to visual motion. J Neurosci 16:1486-1510.
- Shadlen MN & Newsome WT (2001). Neural basis of a perceptual decision in the parietal cortex (area LIP) of the Rhesus monkey. J Neurophysiol 86:1916-1936.
downtownDevelopment of visual cortex (Kiorpes) Primary readings:
- Kiorpes L & Movshon JA (2004). Neural limitations on visual development in primates. In The Visual Neurosciences, Chalupa & Werner (eds), MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), Ch 12.
- Kennedy H & Burkhalter A (2004). Ontogenesis of cortical connectivity. In The Visual Neurosciences, Chalupa & Werner (eds), MIT Press (Cambridge, MA), Ch 11.
Secondary readings:
- Kiorpes L & Movshon JA (1990). Behavioral analysis of visual development. In The Development of Sensory Systems in Mammals, Coleman JR (ed.), New York: Wiley.
downtownPsychophysics of early vision (Rubin) Readings:
- Graham & Nachmias (1971). Detection of grating patterns containing two spatial frequencies: a comparison of single-channel and multiple-channel models. Vision Research 11:251-259.
Outline (2007)
downtownMid-level vision (Rubin)
Readings:
- Braddick O (1993). Segmentation versus integration in visual motion processing. Trends Neurosci 16:263-268, 1993.
- Hupe JM & Rubin N (2003). The dynamics of bi-stable alternation in ambiguous motion displays: a fresh look at plaids. Vision Res 43:531-548.
- Pack CC, Livingstone MS, Duffy KR, Born RT (2003). End-stopping and the aperture problem: two-dimensional motion signals in macaque V1. Neuron 14:671-680, 2003.
- van Wezel RJA & van der Smagt MJ (2003). Motion processing: how low can you go. Current Biology 13:R840-R842.
Assignment #2 due
uptownChemical senses: periphery (Suh) Text: Squire Chs 23 & 24
Primary readings:
- Axel R (2004). Scents and sensibility: A molecular logic of olfactory perception. Nobel Lecture.
- Chandrashekar J, Hoon MA, Nicholas J. P. Ryba NJP, Zuker CS (2006). The receptors and cells for mammalian taste. Nature 444:288-294.
Secondary readings:
- Buck L & Axel R (1991). A novel multigene family may encode odorant receptors: a molecular basis for odor recognition. Cell 65(1):175-87.
- Hoon MA, Adler E, Lindemeier J, Battey JF, Ryba NJ, Zuker CS (1999). Putative mammalian taste receptors: a class of taste-specific GPCRs with distinct topographic selectivity. Cell 96(4):541-51.
- Clyne PJ, Warr CG, Freeman MR, Lessing D, Kim J, Carlson JR (1999). A novel family of divergent seven-transmembrane proteins: candidate odorant receptors in Drosophila. Neuron 22(2):327-38.
- Wang JW, Wong AM, Flores J, Vosshall LB, Axel R (2003). Two-photon calcium imaging reveals an odor-evoked map of activity in the fly brain. Cell 112(2):271-82.
- Lee T & Luo L (2001). Mosaic analysis with a repressible cell marker (MARCM) for Drosophila neural development. Trends Neurosci 24:251-254.
uptownChemical senses: central (Wilson) Text: Squire Chs 23 & 24
Readings:
- Mori K, Nagao H, Yoshihara Y (1999). The olfactory Bulb: coding and processing of odor molecule information. Science 286:711-715.
- Shepherd GM (2006). Smell images and the flavour system in the human brain. Nature 444:316-321.
- Zelano C & Sobel N (2005). Humans as an animal model for systems-level organization of olfaction. Neuron 48:431-454.
Lecture slides (part 1)
Lecture slides (part 2)
uptownSomatosensation: periphery (Gardner) Text: Squire Ch 25 pp. 581-589
Primary readings:
- Gardner EP (2010). A22254 Touch [version 2.0 ]. In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley & Sons (In press).
- Johansson RS, Vallbo ÅB (1983). Tactile sensory coding in the glabrous skin of the human hand. Trends Neurosci 6:27-32
- Johnson KO (2001). The roles and functions of cutaneous mechanoreceptors. Curr Opin Neurobiol 11:455-461.
Secondary readings:
- Johnson KO & Hsiao SS (1992). Neural mechanisms of tactile form and texture mechanisms. Annual Review of Neuroscience 15:227-250.
- Talbot WH, Darian-Smith I, Kornhuber HH, Mountcastle VB (1968). The sense of flutter-vibration: comparison of the human capacity with response patterns of mechanoreceptive afferents from the monkey hand. J Neurophysiol 31:301-334.
- Westling G, Johansson RS (1987). Responses in glabrous skin mechanoreceptors during precision grip in humans. Exp Brain Res 66:128-140.
Additional readings (for all 3 lectures, optional)
uptownSomatosensation: central (Gardner) Text: Squire Ch 25 pp. 592-598, 604-607
Primary readings:
- Gardner EP (2010). A22254 Touch [version 2.0 ]. In: Encyclopedia of Life Sciences. John Wiley & Sons (In press).
- Mountcastle VB (1995). The parietal system and some higher brain functions. Cerebral Cortex 5:377-390.
- Nelson RJ, Sur M, Felleman DJ, Kaas JH (1980). Representations of the body surface in postcentral parietal cortex of Macaca fascicularis. J Comp Neurol 192:611-643.
- Pons TP, Garraghty PE, Ommaya AK, Kaas JH, Taub E, Mishkin M (1991). Massive cortical reorganization after sensory deafferentation in adult macaques. Science 252:1857-1860.
Secondary readings:
- Mountcastle VB (1997). The columnar organization of the neocortex. Brain 120:701-722.
- Recanzone GH, Merzenich MM, Jenkins WM, Grajski KA, Dinse HR (1992). Topographic reorganization of the hand representation in cortical area 3b owl monkeys trained in a frequency-discrimination task. J Neurophysiol 67:1031-1056.
- Romo R, Salinas E (2003). Flutter Discrimination: Neural codes, perception, memory and decision making. Nature Reviews Neuroscience 4:293-218.
Additional readings (for all 3 lectures, optional)
uptownPain and temperature sense (Gardner) Text: Squire Ch 25 pp. 589-592, 598-603
Primary readings:
- Bandell M, Macpherson LJ, Patapoutian A (2007). From chills to chilis: mechanisms for thermosensation and chemesthesis via thermoTRPs. Curr Opin Neurobiol 17:490-497.
- Willis WD (2007). The somatosensory system, with emphasis on structures important for pain. Brain Res Rev 55:297-313.
Secondary readings:
- Craig AD (2003). Pain mechanisms: labeled lines versus convergence in central processing. Annu Rev Neurosci 26:1-30
- Julius D & Basbaum AI (2001). Molecular mechanisms of nociception. Nature 413:203-210.
- Scholz J, Woolf CJ (2002). Can we conquer pain? Nature Neurosci Suppl 5:1062-1067.
Additional readings (for all 3 lectures, optional)
No class: spring break No class: spring break
downtownAudition: periphery (Semple) Text: Squire Chs 23 & 26
Primary readings:
- Hofman PM, Van Riswich JG, Van Opstal AJ (1998). Relearning sound localization with new ears. Nat Neurosci, 1:417-421.
Secondary readings:
- Wightman F & Kistler D (1998). Of vulcan ears, human ears and 'earprints'. Nat Neurosci, 1:337-339.
- Nobili R, Mammano F, Ashmore J (1998). How well do we understand the cochlea? Trends Neurosci, 21:159-167.
Lecture slides (2007)
downtownAudition: central I (Semple) Text: Squire Ch 26
Primary readings:
- Brand A, Behrend A, Marquardt T, McAlpine D, Grothe B (2002). Precise inhibition is essential for microsecond interaural time difference coding. Nature, 417:543-547.
Secondary readings:
- Pickles JO (1988). An Introduction to the Physiology of Hearing , 2nd edition. London: Academic.
- McAlpine D & Grothe B (2003). Sound localization and delay lines - do mammals fit the model? Trends Neurosci, 26:347-350.
- Grothe B (2003). New roles for synaptic inhibition in sound localization. Nat Rev Neurosci 4:540-550.
Lecture slides (2007)
downtownAudition: central II (Semple) Primary readings:
- Kaas JH & Hackett TA (2000). Subdivisions of auditory cortex and processing streams in primates. PNAS, 97:11793-11799.
- Yost, WA (1991). Auditory image perception and analysis: the basis for hearing. Hearing Research, 56:8-18.
Secondary readings:
- Carlyon RP (2004). How the brain separates sounds. Trends Cogn Sci, 8:465-471.
- Read HL, Winer JA, Schreiner CE (2002). Functional architecture of auditory cortex. Curr Opin Neurobiol, 12:433-440.
- Semple MN & Scott BH (2003). Cortical mechanisms in hearing. Curr Opin Neurobiol, 13:167-173.
Lecture slides (2007)
Assignment #3 due
uptownMuscles, motor neurons & motor pools (Rosenbluth/Lang) Text: Squire Chs 28 & 29
Readings:
- Mountcastle VB (1980). Medical Physiology, 14th edition, St. Louis: Mosby, Chs 26-28.
Lecture slides (muscles)
Audio recordingLecture slides (motor neurons)
Audio recording
downtownReflexes I: Sherrington reflexes & CPGs (Glimcher) Text: Squire Chs 28 & 29
Readings:
- Sherrington CS (1906), pp 16-68 in Gallistel CR (1980a), The organization of action, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- Weiss P (1941), pp 210-287 in Gallistel CR (1980a), The organization of action, Hillsdale, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
- von Holst E & von Saint Paul U (1963). On the functional organization of drives. Animal Behaviour, 11:1-20.
- Gallistel CR (1980b) . From muscles to motivation. American Scientist, 68:398-409.
downtownReflexes II: posture & locomotion (Glimcher) Text: Squire Chs 28 & 29
Readings:
- Bernstein N (1935). The problem of the interrelation of co-ordination and localization. Arch Biol Sci 38. Reprinted in Whiting HTA (ed) (1984) Human Motor Actions. Bernstein Reassessed. North-Holland.
- Yuste R, MacLean JN, Smith J, Lansner A (2005). The cortex as a central pattern generator. Nat Rev Neurosci 6:477-83.
Outline (2007)
Assignment #4 due
uptownDescending motor control, motor cortex (Lang) Text: Squire Ch 30
Readings:
- Tanji J & Evarts EV (1976). Anticipatory activity of motor cortex neurons in relation to direction of intended movement. J Neurophysiol 39:1062-1068.
- Soctt SH (2004). Optimal feedback control and the neural basis of volitional motor control. Nat Rev Neurosci 5:534-546.
- Kalaska JF, Cohen DA, Hyde ML, Prud'homme M (1989). A comparison of movement direction vs. load direction. J Neurosci, 9:2080- 2102.
downtownSensorimotor integration, posterior parietal cortex (Pesaran) Text: Squire Ch 30
Readings:
- Andersen RA, Buneo CA (2002). Intentional maps in posterior parietal cortex. Annu Rev Neurosci. 25:189-220.
uptownBasal ganglia (Rice) Text: Squire Ch 31
Readings:
- DeLong MR, Wichmann T (2007). Circuits and circuit disorders of the basal ganglia. Arch Neurol 64:20-4.
- Gerfen CR (1992). The neostriatal mosaic: multiple levels of compartmental organization. Trends Neurosci 15:133-9.
downtownEye movements I: VOR & OKN (Glimcher) Text: Squire Ch 33
Readings:
- Vestibular eye movements, Ch 2 in Carpenter RHS (1988) Movements of the Eyes (2nd edition), London: Pion Limited.
- Optokinetics, Ch 3 in Carpenter RHS (1988) Movements of the Eyes (2nd edition), London: Pion Limited.
- Blanks H, Estes MS, Markham CH (1975). Physiologic characteristics of vestibular first-order canal neurons in the cat II. Response to constant angle acceleration. J Neurophysiol, 38:1250-1268.
- Simpson, JI (1984). The accessory optic system. Annu Rev Neurosci 7:13-41.
downtownEye movements II: saccades, pursuit, vergence (Glimcher) Text: Squire Ch 33
Readings:
- Smooth Pursuit, Ch 3 in Carpenter RHS (1988) Movements of the Eyes (2nd edition), London: Pion Limited.
- Saccades, Ch 4 in Carpenter RHS (1988) Movements of the Eyes (2nd edition), London: Pion Limited.
- Vergence, Ch 5 in Carpenter RHS (1988) Movements of the Eyes (2nd edition), London: Pion Limited.
Lecture slides (2008)
Assignment #5 due
uptownCerebellum (Llinas) Text: Squire Ch 32
Readings:
- Insert something here
Lecture slides (2007)
Final exam (take home)
|
Stewart Bloomfield
stewart.bloomfield@nyumc.org |
Bijan Pesaran*
bijan@cns.nyu.edu |
|
Esther Gardner
esther.gardner@nyumc.org |
Margaret Rice
margaret.rice@nyumc.org |
|
Paul Glimcher
glimcher@cns.nyu.edu |
Jack Rosenbluth
jack.rosenbluth@nyumc.org |
|
Michael Hawken (not lecturing this year)
mjh@cns.nyu.edu |
Nava Rubin
nava.rubin@nyu.edu |
|
David Heeger (not lecturing this year)
david.heeger@nyu.edu |
Malcolm Semple
mal@cns.nyu.edu |
|
Lynne Kiorpes
lynne@cns.nyu.edu |
Robert M. Shapley
shapley@cns.nyu.edu |
|
Eric Lang
eric.lang@nyumc.org |
Eero Simoncelli
eero@cns.nyu.edu |
|
Rodollfo Llinas
rodolfo.llinas@med.nyu.edu |
John Simpson
john.simpson@nyumc.org |
|
J. Anthony Movshon
tony@cns.nyu.edu |
Greg Suh
greg.suh@med.nyu.edu |
|
*Course Coordinator |
Donald Wilson
donald.wilson@nyumc.org |
For each assignment, write an essay (or essays for assignments with multiple questions), approximately 5 pages per assignment, with references and optionally with figures. Submit your essay by email to (as a MS Word, rtf, or pdf file) to the faculty member who assigned it (e.g., Prof. Shapley for assignment 1) and to Prof. Pesaran.
We have seen that many neurons in V1 cortex are orientation-selective and we discussed possible mechanisms for this selectivity. But what is the purpose of orientation selectivity? What function or functions does it serve?
How do we determine the percpetual functions of a visual area? To what degree are those functions hardwired, and to what degree do they depend on learning and experience?
The receptive field is considered the elementary unit of spatial information processing in the sense of touch. (a) Describe the receptive field topography of the four major classes of mechanoreceptors in the hand of humans and monkeys, and its relationship to receptor morphology. (b) How are these receptive fields transformed in the primary somatosensory cortex, and in higher areas of the parietal lobe? (c) Describe the role of receptive fields in yielding percepts of object shape and size when touched by the hand. (d) How may receptive fields be altered by hand use? Cite examples from the literature (with references) to support your hypotheses.
a. Frequency tuning in the mammalian ear is sharpened by nonlinear amplification in the cochlea. Describe the mechanism of this nonlinearity, and discuss the listening conditions under which this mechanism would be most effective in enhancing hearing.
OR
b. Pitch perception is generally considered to reflect central refinement of spectral and temporal patterns established in the cochlea. Explain how a population of cortical pitch-selective neurons might arise, and discuss how this selectivity differs from the representation of pitch in the cochlea.