Symmetry, multistability, and long-range interactions in brain development.
An analytically tractable class of dynamical models for the pattern of contour detecting neurons in the visual cortex is introduced. A permutation symmetry of the model equations guarantees the emergence of contour detectors for all stimulus orientations. By this symmetry a large number of dynamically degenerate solutions exist that quantitatively reproduce the experimentally observed patterns. Long-range interactions are essential for the stability of these realistic solutions.
Wolf
Fred
F
MPI for Dynamics and Self-Organization, D-37073 Göttingen, Germany.
D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000254:growth & development* / Q000502:physiology; D014796:Visual Perception