Today, most object detection algorithms differ drastically from how humans tackle visual problems. In this thesis, I present a new paradigm for improving machine vision algorithms by designing them to better mimic how ...

The control of respiration and body temperature involves neural circuits within the brainstem modulated by the neurotransmitter serotonin (5HT), though it is unclear precisely which serotonergic neurons are critical to ...

Inhibition controls information flow through a neural circuit by modulating synaptic integration, restricting action potentials, and coordinating the activity of ensembles of neurons. These functions are mediated by a ...

The complex and sophisticated neocortical circuits that mediate higher-order brain functions are assembled from an extraordinary variety of neuronal subtypes, each with distinct morphologies, output connectivity, and ...

Dopamine-releasing neurons with cell bodies in the substantia nigra pars compacta (SNc) are a primary source of dopamine in the mammalian brain. Dysfunction of dopaminergic signaling is associated with numerous psychiatric ...

The single neuron’s decision of whether to fire an action potential is the central computation underlying neural function. This transformation of synaptic inputs into an output pattern of spikes is controlled by the ...

To enable the identification and localization of sounds in our environment, auditory brain centers must form representations that accurately encode distinct acoustic properties, but also integrate those properties to support ...

One of the fundamental questions in biological science is to understand how the nervous system functions to generate behavior. The past decades have witnessed much progress in behavioral neuroscience, but it is often ...

Studies of complex multicellular organisms would benefit from the ability to selectively manipulate the activities of any cell type of interest. Our ability to achieve this is currently limited by technology and available ...

The retina sends many parallel channels of visual information to the brain through the axons of >20 retinal ganglion cell (RGC) populations. The purpose of these distinct circuits for vision remains an open question. Recent ...