Statistical and dynamical models of brain function

Stefano Fusi and Hans Scherberger

SS 2007

Exercises 01: Introduction - Brain hardware

1. Draw a human brain by hand. Label the lobes and other parts and describe their main function. For each lobe, describe what the main deficits are if that lobe is missing, e.g., as a result of an accident.

2. Describe in your own words how an action potential is propagated along the axon of a neuron. What ions and which components of the axon membrane play a key role? How come that action potentials are normally only propagated forward (i.e., from the cell body to the axon terminal) and not backward?

3. How do neurons communicate with each other? Describe the fundamental action of a synapse. Give the names of five common neurotransmitters.

4. What is a receptive field of a neuron? As an example from the visual system, describe a typical receptive field of a neuron in the retina and in the primary visual cortex. Also develop a connectivity model that could explain the gradient field in the visual cortex from the on/off fields in the retina.