Keynote
Speaker

Edward Callaway, Ph.D. Systems Neurobiology Laboratories Salk Institute Website

Keynote Talk

Saturday, May 10, 7:00 pm
Royal Palm Ballroom

Unraveling fine-scale and cell-type specificity of visual cortical circuits

We have recently demonstrated that neighboring neurons in visual cortex are involved in distinctly different circuits. This includes both specificity of connections to particular cell types and the formation of fine scale subnetworks of relatively independent neuronal populations. This specificity creates challenges for gaining a mechanistic understanding of how cortical function contributes to visual perception. We have therefore developed technologies based on molecular biology, genetics, and virology that will allow fine scale microcircuitry to be more directly correlated with function. Other methods allow perturbations of the activity of distinct neural components so that their contributions to network function and perception can be more directly tested.

Biography

Edward M. Callaway is a professor in the Systems Neurobiology Laboratories. Work in his laboratory is aimed at understanding how neural circuits give rise to perception and behavior. Studies focus primarily on the organization and function of neural circuits in the visual cortex. Relating neural circuits to function in the visual system, where correlations between neural activity and perception can be directly tested, provides fundamental insight into the basic mechanisms by which cortical circuits mediate perception.