Resource for the Study of
  Neural Models of Behavior

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Welcome to the Resource for the Study of Neural Models of Behavior Homepage

Supported by NIH Grant RR06853

Research Emphasis

The goal of the Research Resource at the University of Rochester is to relate the neural codes of the brain to observed behavior. The key feature of neural codes is their relatively compact timescale. The coding of behaviors has to take place within a temporal range of 10-100 milliseconds. For this reason the Resource is specifically aimed at studying the brain's behaviors at these timescales. This is done using high-performance computers to simulate real-world environments in a way that allows them to be manipulated as a function of behavior.

The world provides a vast array of information that can support a huge repertoire of potential behaviors. To understand how the brain chooses among this array to direct natural behavior requires changing the environment on millisecond timescales at key points with respect to an ongoing task. This cannot be done with the physical world but now can be done with simulated worlds generated with special-purpose high-performance computers interfaced to head-mounted visual displays and visual and kinetic monitoring equipment.

The centerpiece of the constituent laboratories is innovative instrumentation for generating visual and kinetic stimuli in conjunction with the monitoring of behavioral state. Particular emphasis is given to the visual, kinematic, proprioceptive, and haptic states used in sensori-motor coordination. The Resource includes human and animal experiments as well as extensive computer simulations. The development and sharing of such equipment in a single setting has allowed a new mode of multidisciplinary investigation whereby fundamental questions can be pursued with the best combination of interdisciplinary experiments.



Last Updated March 2001 by Ryan Mruczek