scholarly journals The brain of Cataglyphis ants: neuronal organization and visual projections

2020 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jens Habenstein ◽  
Emad Amini ◽  
Kornelia Grübel ◽  
Basil el Jundi ◽  
Wolfgang Rössler
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Neuronal Networks ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Visual Features ◽  
Insect Brain ◽  
Neuronal Organization ◽  
Distance Information ◽  
Fiber Tracts ◽  
Central Brain ◽  
The Brain

AbstractCataglyphis ants are known for their outstanding navigational abilities. They return to their inconspicuous nest after far-reaching foraging trips using path integration, and whenever available, learn and memorize visual features of panoramic sceneries. To achieve this, the ants combine directional visual information from celestial cues and panoramic scenes with distance information from an intrinsic odometer. The largely vision-based navigation in Cataglyphis requires sophisticated neuronal networks to process the broad repertoire of visual stimuli. Although Cataglyphis ants have been subject to many neuroethological studies, little is known about the general neuronal organization of their central brain and the visual pathways beyond major circuits. Here, we provide a comprehensive, three-dimensional neuronal map of synapse-rich neuropils in the brain of Cataglyphis nodus including major connecting fiber systems. In addition, we examined neuronal tracts underlying the processing of visual information in more detail. This study revealed a total of 33 brain neuropils and 30 neuronal fiber tracts including six distinct tracts between the optic lobes and the cerebrum. We also discuss the importance of comparative studies on insect brain architecture for a profound understanding of neuronal networks and their function.

Three-Dimensional Topographic Fiber Tract Anatomy of the Cerebrum

2015 ◽  
Vol 11 (2) ◽  
pp. 274-305 ◽  
Author(s):  
Kaan Yagmurlu ◽  
Alexander L Vlasak ◽  
Albert L Rhoton
Keyword(s):  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Central Core ◽  
3 Dimensional ◽  
Fiber Tracts ◽  
Nuclear Masses ◽  
Fiber Dissection ◽  
Dissection Technique ◽  
Human Brains ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Formalin Fixed

Abstract BACKGROUND The fiber tracts of the cerebrum may be a more important determinant of resection limits than the cortex. Better knowledge of the 3-dimensional (3-D) anatomic organization of the fiber pathways is important in planning safe and accurate surgery for lesions within the cerebrum. OBJECTIVE To examine the topographic anatomy of fiber tracts and subcortical gray matter of the human cerebrum and their relationships with consistent cortical, ventricular, and nuclear landmarks. METHODS Twenty-five formalin-fixed human brains and 4 whole cadaveric heads were examined by fiber dissection technique and ×6 to ×40 magnification. The fiber tracts and central core structures, including the insula and basal ganglia, were examined and their relationships captured in 3-D photography. The depth between the surface of the cortical gyri and selected fiber tracts was measured. RESULTS The topographic relationships of the important association, projection, and commissural fasciculi within the cerebrum and superficial cortical landmarks were identified. Important landmarks with consistent relationships to the fiber tracts were the cortical gyri and sulci, limiting sulci of the insula, nuclear masses in the central core, and lateral ventricles. The fiber tracts were also organized in a consistent pattern in relation to each other. The anatomic findings are briefly compared with functional data from clinicoradiological analysis and intraoperative stimulation of fiber tracts. CONCLUSION An understanding of the 3-D anatomic organization of the fiber tracts of the brain is essential in planning safe and accurate cerebral surgery.

scholarly journals Three dimensional microenvironments on multi-electrode arrays produce neuronal networks that function like the brain

2018 ◽  
Vol 12 ◽  
Author(s):  
Justin Bourke ◽  
Anita Quigley ◽  
Cathal O'Connell ◽  
Jeremy Crook ◽  
Gordon Wallace ◽  
...  
Keyword(s):  
Neuronal Networks ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Electrode Arrays ◽  
The Brain

What the eye tells the brain: retinal feature extraction

Neuroforum ◽  
2021 ◽  
Vol 0 (0) ◽  
Author(s):  
Klaudia P. Szatko ◽  
Katrin Franke
Keyword(s):  
Feature Extraction ◽  
Visual System ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Neural Mechanisms ◽  
Visual Features ◽  
Incoming Information ◽  
Motion Contrast ◽  
Parallel Feature ◽  
The Brain

Abstract To provide a compact and efficient input to the brain, sensory systems separate the incoming information into parallel feature channels. In the visual system, parallel processing starts in the retina. Here, the image is decomposed into multiple retinal output channels, each selective for a specific set of visual features like motion, contrast, or edges. In this article, we will summarize recent findings on the functional organization of the retinal output, the neural mechanisms underlying its diversity, and how single visual features, like color, are extracted by the retinal network. Unraveling how the retina – as the first stage of the visual system – filters the visual input is an important step toward understanding how visual information processing guides behavior.

scholarly journals A moving observer in a three-dimensional world

2016 ◽  
Vol 371 (1697) ◽  
pp. 20150265 ◽  
Author(s):  
Andrew Glennerster
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Reference Frames ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Local Shape ◽  
Dimensional Reconstruction ◽  
The Face ◽  
Three Dimensional Coordinate ◽  
Three Dimensional Vision ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Speed And Accuracy

For many tasks such as retrieving a previously viewed object, an observer must form a representation of the world at one location and use it at another. A world-based three-dimensional reconstruction of the scene built up from visual information would fulfil this requirement, something computer vision now achieves with great speed and accuracy. However, I argue that it is neither easy nor necessary for the brain to do this. I discuss biologically plausible alternatives, including the possibility of avoiding three-dimensional coordinate frames such as ego-centric and world-based representations. For example, the distance, slant and local shape of surfaces dictate the propensity of visual features to move in the image with respect to one another as the observer's perspective changes (through movement or binocular viewing). Such propensities can be stored without the need for three-dimensional reference frames. The problem of representing a stable scene in the face of continual head and eye movements is an appropriate starting place for understanding the goal of three-dimensional vision, more so, I argue, than the case of a static binocular observer. This article is part of the themed issue ‘Vision in our three-dimensional world’.

scholarly journals Cross-Modal Effect of Presenting Visual and Force Feedback That Create the Illusion of Stair-Climbing

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (7) ◽  
pp. 2987
Author(s):  
Takumi Okumura ◽  
Yuichi Kurita
Keyword(s):  
Visual Information ◽  
Force Feedback ◽  
Activity Level ◽  
Experimental Results ◽  
Stair Climbing ◽  
Mirror Therapy ◽  
Visual Condition ◽  
Stroke Patients ◽  
Head Mount Display ◽  
The Brain

Image therapy, which creates illusions with a mirror and a head mount display, assists movement relearning in stroke patients. Mirror therapy presents the movement of the unaffected limb in a mirror, creating the illusion of movement of the affected limb. As the visual information of images cannot create a fully immersive experience, we propose a cross-modal strategy that supplements the image with sensual information. By interacting with the stimuli received from multiple sensory organs, the brain complements missing senses, and the patient experiences a different sense of motion. Our system generates the sense of stair-climbing in a subject walking on a level floor. The force sensation is presented by a pneumatic gel muscle (PGM). Based on motion analysis in a human lower-limb model and the characteristics of the force exerted by the PGM, we set the appropriate air pressure of the PGM. The effectiveness of the proposed system was evaluated by surface electromyography and a questionnaire. The experimental results showed that by synchronizing the force sensation with visual information, we could match the motor and perceived sensations at the muscle-activity level, enhancing the sense of stair-climbing. The experimental results showed that the visual condition significantly improved the illusion intensity during stair-climbing.

scholarly journals Bio-Inspired Modality Fusion for Active Speaker Detection

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (8) ◽  
pp. 3397
Author(s):  
Gustavo Assunção ◽  
Nuno Gonçalves ◽  
Paulo Menezes
Keyword(s):  
Superior Colliculus ◽  
Visual Information ◽  
Human Beings ◽  
Validation Process ◽  
Detection Approach ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Speaker Detection ◽  
The One ◽  
The Brain ◽  
Fusion Ability

Human beings have developed fantastic abilities to integrate information from various sensory sources exploring their inherent complementarity. Perceptual capabilities are therefore heightened, enabling, for instance, the well-known "cocktail party" and McGurk effects, i.e., speech disambiguation from a panoply of sound signals. This fusion ability is also key in refining the perception of sound source location, as in distinguishing whose voice is being heard in a group conversation. Furthermore, neuroscience has successfully identified the superior colliculus region in the brain as the one responsible for this modality fusion, with a handful of biological models having been proposed to approach its underlying neurophysiological process. Deriving inspiration from one of these models, this paper presents a methodology for effectively fusing correlated auditory and visual information for active speaker detection. Such an ability can have a wide range of applications, from teleconferencing systems to social robotics. The detection approach initially routes auditory and visual information through two specialized neural network structures. The resulting embeddings are fused via a novel layer based on the superior colliculus, whose topological structure emulates spatial neuron cross-mapping of unimodal perceptual fields. The validation process employed two publicly available datasets, with achieved results confirming and greatly surpassing initial expectations.

scholarly journals The orthopedic characterization of cfap298tm304 mutants validate zebrafish to faithfully model human AIS

2021 ◽  
Vol 11 (1) ◽  
Author(s):  
Marie-Hardy Laura ◽  
Cantaut-Belarif Yasmine ◽  
Pietton Raphaël ◽  
Slimani Lotfi ◽  
Pascal-Moussellard Hugues
Keyword(s):  
Cerebrospinal Fluid ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
Fluid Circulation ◽  
Micro Computed Tomography ◽  
Csf Flow ◽  
Cerebrospinal Fluid Circulation ◽  
Clinical Criteria ◽  
Brain And Spinal Cord ◽  
The Brain

AbstractCerebrospinal fluid (CSF) circulation relies on the beating of motile cilia projecting in the lumen of the brain and spinal cord cavities Mutations in genes involved in cilia motility disturb cerebrospinal fluid circulation and result in scoliosis-like deformities of the spine in juvenile zebrafish. However, these defects in spine alignment have not been validated with clinical criteria used to diagnose adolescent idiopathic scoliosis (AIS). The aim of this study was to describe, using orthopaedic criteria the spinal deformities of a zebrafish mutant model of AIS targeting a gene involved in cilia polarity and motility, cfap298tm304. The zebrafish mutant line cfap298tm304, exhibiting alteration of CSF flow due to defective cilia motility, was raised to the juvenile stage. The analysis of mutant animals was based on micro-computed tomography (micro-CT), which was conducted in a QUANTUM FX CALIPER, with a 59 µm-30 mm protocol. 63% of the cfap298tm304 zebrafish analyzed presented a three-dimensional deformity of the spine, that was evolutive during the juvenile phase, more frequent in females, with a right convexity, a rotational component and involving at least one dislocation. We confirm here that cfap298tm304 scoliotic individuals display a typical AIS phenotype, with orthopedic criteria mirroring patient’s diagnosis.

scholarly journals Cinematic rendering of a burst sagittal suture caused by an occipito-frontal gunshot wound

2021 ◽  
Author(s):  
Dominic Gascho ◽  
Michael J. Thali ◽  
Rosa M. Martinez ◽  
Stephan A. Bolliger
Keyword(s):  
Gunshot Wound ◽  
Three Dimensional ◽  
The Novel ◽  
Sagittal Suture ◽  
Resonance Imaging ◽  
Cinematic Rendering ◽  
Reconstruction Methods ◽  
Dimensional Reconstruction ◽  
Magnetic Resonance Imaging Mri ◽  
The Brain

AbstractThe computed tomography (CT) scan of a 19-year-old man who died from an occipito-frontal gunshot wound presented an impressive radiating fracture line where the entire sagittal suture burst due to the high intracranial pressure that arose from a near-contact shot from a 9 mm bullet fired from a Glock 17 pistol. Photorealistic depictions of the radiating fracture lines along the cranial bones were created using three-dimensional reconstruction methods, such as the novel cinematic rendering technique that simulates the propagation and interaction of light when it passes through volumetric data. Since the brain had collapsed, depiction of soft tissue was insufficient on CT images. An additional magnetic resonance imaging (MRI) examination was performed, which enabled the diagnostic assessment of cerebral injuries.

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