Regensburg 2004 – scientific programme

Parts | Days | Selection | Search | Downloads | Help

AKB: Biologische Physik

AKB 50: Poster Session "Biological Physics"

AKB 50.27: Poster

Friday, March 12, 2004, 10:30–13:00, B

A model for pathfinding and targeting in mixed populations of axons — •Peter Borowski and Martin Zapotocky — Max-Planck-Institut für Physik komplexer Systeme; Nöthnitzer Str. 38; 01187 Dresden

We present a model for the development of a neural map involving multiple axon species. The model is motivated by the neural connectivity scheme of the olfactory system, where axons start in a spatially disordered configuration in the sensory epithelium, yet converge to specific points on the olfactory bulb depending on which type of odorant receptor they express. An important ingredient of our model is the presence of axon-axon interactions which lead to preferential bundling of axons of the same species. We classify the connectivity patterns that develop in such a system in the presence and absence of spatially graded guidance cues, and discuss the robustness of the corresponding neural maps.