Adaptation of Barn Owl Localization System with Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity

Citation

Huo J, Murray A, Smith L & Yang Z (2008) Adaptation of Barn Owl Localization System with Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity. In: IEEE (ed.) The 2008 IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks. IEEE International Joint Conference on Neural Networks, 2008. IJCNN 2008. (IEEE World Congress on Computational Intelligence). Hong Kong, 1-8 June 2008, Hong Kong, 01.06.2008-08.06.2008. Hong Kong: Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, pp. 155-160. http://ieeexplore.ieee.org/xpl/articleDetails.jsp?arnumber=4633782; https://doi.org/10.1109/IJCNN.2008.4633782

Abstract
To localize a seen object, the superior colliculus of the barn owl integrates the visual and auditory localization cues which are accessed from the sensory system of the brain. These cues are formed as visual and auditory maps, thus the alignment between visual and auditory maps is very important for accurate localization in prey behavior. Blindness or prism wearing may disturb this alignment. The juvenile barn owl could adapt its auditory map to this mismatch after several weeks training. Here we investigate this process by building a computational model of auditory and visual integration with map adjustment in the deep superior colliculus. The adaptation is based on activity dependent axon developing which is instructed by an inhibitory network. In the inhibitory network, the strength of the inhibition is adjusted by spike timing dependent plasticity(STDP). The simulation results are in line with the biological experiment and support the idea that the STDP is involved in the alignment of sensory maps. The system of the model provides a new mechanism capable of eliminating the disparity in visual and auditory map integration.

Keywords
Auditory system; Biological system modeling; Biological systems; Blindness; Computational modeling; Nerve fibers; Neurons; Retina; Surfaces; Timing