April 27, 2018　　Friday Lunch Seminar
12:15 〜 13:00

CiNet　1F　Conference Room

“Visual Neuron Simulator: an intuitive educational and research tool”

Izumi Ohzawa

CiNet PI
Professor
Graduate School of Frontier Biosciences
Osaka University

Host PI : Izumi Ohzawa

Abstract:

As a teacher of visual neurophysiology, I have struggled to explain “receptive fields” of visual neurons. For example, the current notion of visual receptive field is defined in the joint space consisting of space-time (X,Y,T) and spatiotemporal frequency (Fx,Fy,Ft).
Unfortunately, that description alone will repell most uninitiated students and lay audience. To remedy this situation, we have developed a real-time simulator for just one visual neuron (for area MT first).
It will compute responses of one neuron in real-time, using the standard video camea now built into most laptop computers. I wish to share how this allows intuitive understanding of the operation of visual neurons.

About CiNet’s Friday Lunch Seminars:
The Friday Lunch Seminar is CiNet’s main regular meeting series, held every week at 12:15 in the beautiful main lecture theatre on the ground floor at CiNet. The talks are typically 40mins long and orientated towards an inter-disciplinary audience. They are informal, social, and most people bring their own lunch to eat during the talk. They are open to anyone who is feeling curious and wants to come, regardless of where you work.