Wednesday, March 1, 2023 12:00 PM - 1:00 PM (ET)
Institute for Advanced Computational Science, Seminar Room
IACS STAFFIACS@STONYBROOK.EDU
A model of decentralized vision in the sea urchin Diadema africanum
Abstract:
Sea urchins can detect light and move in relation to luminous stimuli despite lacking eyes. They presumably detect light through photoreceptor cells distributed on their body surface. However, there is currently no mechanistic explanation of how these animals can process light to detect visual stimuli and produce oriented movement.
In this talk, I will present a model of decentralized vision in echinoderms that includes all known processing stages, from photoreceptor cells to radial nerve neurons to neurons contained in the oral nerve ring encircling the mouth of the animals. In the model, the information of light stimuli is captured by photoreceptor cells, passed through radial nerve neurons, and integrated in the oral nerve ring to produce a profile of neural activity. This neural activity is read out to produce a model of movement. The model captures previously published data on the behavior of sea urchin Diadema africanum probed with a variety of physical stimuli. The specific pattern of neural connections used in the model makes testable predictions on the properties of single neurons and aggregate neural behavior in Diadema africanum and other echinoderms, offering a potential understanding of the mechanism of visual orientation in these animals.
Bio: Tianshu Li is a fourth-year PhD candidate in the department of Neurobiology and Behavior at Stony Brook working with Dr. Giancarlo La Camera. She is broadly interested in understanding the dynamics of neural populations, how they are generated, and how they support the functions of the neural system. She analyzes neural data from rodent and primate brains and develops computational models to uncover the neural mechanisms underlying sensory and cognitive processes.
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