Math Modeling Seminar: A Dynamical Model of the Visual Cortex

A Dynamical Model of the Visual Cortex

Dr. Lai-Sang Young
Henry & Lucy Moses Professor of Science
Professor of Mathematics and Neural Science
Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences
New York University

Register Here for Zoom Link

Abstract:
In the past several years, I have been involved in building a biologically realistic model of the monkey visual cortex. Work on the input layer of the primary visual cortex (V1) is now nearly complete, and I would like to share some of that with you. I will divide by time between the following two topics: (1) Local circuits, the dynamics of which I will describe in some detail, including an emergent rhythm detected all over the brain. (2) The wiring that confers upon the visual cortex the ability to identify contours, following the well-known theory of Hubel and Wiesel. I will present a large-scale mechanistic model that incorporates the ideas discussed, and show simulations of the visual cortex computing in real time, producing activity maps that are analogous to fMRI but on the neuronal level, with arbitrarily high spatio-temporal resolutions.

Speaker Bio:
Dr. Lai-Sang Young is a Professor of Mathematics at the Courant Institute and Henry and Lucy Moses Professor of Science at NYU. She is currently also a Distinguished Visiting Professor at the Institute for Advanced Study, Princeton, holding a joint appointment between the School of Mathematics and the School of Natural Sciences. Young started her career in pure Mathematics, with a specialization in Dynamical Systems. She is best known for her work on the theory of chaos. In the last 20 years she has expanded her research to include applications of dynamical systems ideas to Mathematical Physics and to Computational Neuroscience. Young has delivered plenary lectures in the International Congress of Mathematicians and the International Congress on Mathematical Physics. She is a member of the National Academy of Sciences and a member of the American Academy of Arts and Sciences.

Intended Audience:
Undergraduates, graduates, and experts. Those with interest in the topic.
To request an interpreter, please visit myaccess.rit.edu

The Math Modeling Seminar will recur each week throughout the semester on the same day and time. Find out more about upcoming speakers on the Mathematical Modeling Seminar Series webpage.