CNS 246 Fall 1996

CNS 246

CNS 246 is a graduate level project-based class which intends to introduce students to the issues and techniques involved in collecting and analyzing multi-neuron data. It is primarily a research class. Students are expected to choose a project and make satisfactory progress on it by the end of the term. There will also be a series of tutorials and discussions which will be held on Wednesdays from 1 to 3pm in room 23 BI.

Background needed
To follow the discussion sessions, and to complete a project, students will need both a familiarity with basic neurophysiology (in particular, neocortical architecture and functionality will be useful) and a reasonable level of mathematical knowledge. In general, CNS students and others who have taken both Bi 150 and CNS 185 should have no difficulty. We encourage students to take advantage of the background of others in the class, either through discussion or collaboration on a project. If you have a question about the suitability of your preparation please speak with the instructor or TAs about it.

Material covered
The discussion section will survey the following issues. For a more detailed list of topics and speakers consult the class schedule.

week topic
1 Overview and introduction. Introduction to the class. Why is multicellular recording interesting? Some examples of applications.
2 Recording techniques. Where do multicellular signals come from? We will discuss wire bundles (tetrodes) and silicon in detail and survey some other recording techniques.
3-4 Spike recognition. A brief history. Why is it difficult? What can we learn from electrical engineering? Current techniques.
5-9 Interpreting multicellular data. Correlations between cells. Dynamic correlations and the JPSTH. Measuring information. Synfire chains and spike patterns. Dimensionality reduction.
10 Discovering connectivity from correlations. Theoretical enquiries and experimental progress.

Students who choose to do projects in one of these areas will need to work ahead of the class (don't wait for the lectures on connectivity to start your correlation project!). However the intention is for students to become familiar with all of these issues, while understanding one question in depth.

Reading
The reading associated with each lecture is listed on the schedule. These papers will be copied and available in the computer lab (room 44BI). A more complete list of relevant resources is available here, or in the bibliographies of the papers handed out. If you can't find what you're looking for try talking to one of the TAs.

week	topic
1	Overview and introduction. Introduction to the class. Why is multicellular recording interesting? Some examples of applications.
2	Recording techniques. Where do multicellular signals come from? We will discuss wire bundles (tetrodes) and silicon in detail and survey some other recording techniques.
3-4	Spike recognition. A brief history. Why is it difficult? What can we learn from electrical engineering? Current techniques.
5-9	Interpreting multicellular data. Correlations between cells. Dynamic correlations and the JPSTH. Measuring information. Synfire chains and spike patterns. Dimensionality reduction.
10	Discovering connectivity from correlations. Theoretical enquiries and experimental progress.