Metadata-Version: 1.0
Name: vmo_feedback
Version: 1.0
Summary: Oscillatory Interference Model with Sensory Feedback
Home-page: http://jdmonaco.com/vmo-feedback/
Author: Joe Monaco
Author-email: jmonaco@jhu.edu
License: The MIT License
Description: Many animals use a form of dead reckoning known as 'path integration' to
        maintain a sense of their location as they explore the world. However, internal
        motion signals and the neural activity that integrates them can be noisy,
        leading inevitably to inaccurate position estimates. The rat hippocampus and
        entorhinal cortex support a flexible system of spatial representation that is
        critical to spatial learning and memory. The position signal encoded by this
        system is thought to rely on path integration, but it must be recalibrated by
        familiar landmarks to maintain accuracy. To explore the interaction between
        path integration and external landmarks, we present a model of hippocampal
        activity based on the interference of theta-frequency oscillations that are
        modulated by realistic animal movements around a track. We show that spatial
        activity degrades with noise, but introducing external cues based on direct
        sensory feedback can prevent this degradation. When these cues are put into
        conflict with each other, their interaction produces a diverse array of
        response changes that resembles experimental observations. Feedback driven by
        attending to landmarks may be critical to navigation and spatial memory in
        mammals. 
Platform: Mac OSX
Platform: Linux
Platform: Windows