Success at CNS 2016: Poster by Júlia Gallinaro receives honourable mention
Image by Organization for Computational Neurosciences
Gallinaro’s poster presents a computational model for plasticity during development of the visual cortex of mice. At the beginning, the neural networks in this part of the brain are random and begin to form specific connections only after visual experience. As a result, neurons in the visual cortex form functional groups by connecting preferentially to neurons that respond to similar visual stimuli. This preferential connectivity, however, is not established before mice have gone through visual experience. But what is the exact role of sensory experience during development?
“We used a neuronal network model that is based on the homeostasis of firing rate. This means that the neurons adjust their incoming and outgoing connections, by creating new and deleting already existing contacts, in order to keep their activity at a target value,” Gallinaro explains. “We showed that with such a model it would be easily possible to create this preferential connectivity after visual experience.”
It was the first big conference Júlia Gallinaro participated in. Asked about her personal highlight, she names the poster session: “It is always interesting to see what other people do. Also presenting the poster is a good experience. People would come, talk, ask questions about my work, and also make suggestions.”
But even more than a showcase, the event itself was stimulating, as the researcher remarks. “Different people from around the world working with the same or similar models came and discussed their work with me. There was a good exchange and I definitely got some new ideas, which I think is the main point of such events.”