Neuroscience

The development of stimulus selectivity in the primary sensory cortex of higher vertebrates is considered in a general mathematical framework. A synaptic evolution scheme of a new kind is proposed in which incoming patterns rather than converging…

Cochlear hair cells respond with phenomenal speed and sensitivity to sound vibrations that cause submicron deflections of their hair bundle. Outer hair cells are not only detectors, but also generate force to augment auditory sensitivity and…

This paper describes circumstances around the discovery of long-term potentiation (LTP). In 1966, I had just begun independent work for the degree of Dr medicinae (PhD) in Per Andersen's laboratory in Oslo after an eighteen-month…

Long-term potentiation (LTP) and long-term depression (LTD) remain widely accepted vertebrate models for the cellular and molecular mechanisms that underlie synaptic changes during learning and memory. Although LTD is a phenomenon that occurs in…

Assessing the size of objects rapidly and accurately clearly has survival value. A central multisensory module for subjective magnitude assessment is therefore highly likely, suggested by psychophysical studies, and proposed on theoretical…

The thalamus is strategically placed to control the flow of information to cortex and thus conscious perception. A key player in this control is a local GABAergic interneuron that inhibits relay cells. This interneuron is especially interesting…

Dendrites of pyramidal neurons are complex, electrically active structures that can produce local and global Ca(2+) compartments. Recent studies indicate that dendrites of cortical GABAergic interneurons are also highly specialized, and that…

Gap junctions are the morphological substrate of one class of electrical synapse. This memoir records the author's involvement in the development of our knowledge of the physiology and ultrastructure of electrical synapses. The answer to…