Bagrat Amirikian, Principal Investigator

Three-Dimensional Lattice Model of the Motor Cortex: Emergence of Topologically Ordered Neuronal Structures with Coherent Properties

The long-term goal of this research was to elucidate a relationship between the structure and function of fundamental distinct areas in the neocortex, in general, and the motor cortex, in particular, by combining theoretical methods with experimental approaches. In this work, the researchers endeavored to advance the understanding of whether and how the spatio-structural constraints on intrinsic connectivity effect the segregation of neurons into functional modules. A three-dimensional lattice model, generated by this research, allows for a fundamentally novel approach to studying directional operations performed in the motor cortex by providing means for explicit exploration of the link between the underlying local cortical structure and global collective properties of interacting cells that are substrates of this structure. This three-dimensional lattice model, which is heavily based on the accumulated knowledge of the neuroanatomy and neurophysiology of the motor cortex, lies at the root of the present attempt to bridge theoretical frameworks and experimental data in the domain of very largescale simulations of networks of simplified neurons.

Two principal developments in science and technology made this project feasible: extension of quantitative studies of local cortical connectivity into the spatial domain, and emergence of high performance parallel supercomputers.

Research Group

Thomas Naselaris, Graduate Student Researcher