A spatio-temporally calibrated model of feature map development and neuronal activity in primate V1

Detailed spiking models of the primary visual cortex (V1) in mammals use experimentally derived patterns of connectivity from adult animals, failing to explain how this connectivity develops or how it relates to function. In contrast, developmental models explore how connectivity arises as receptive fields and feature maps organize [1]. A unifying model would retain the parsimony of the developmental approach, while still accounting for the spatial and temporal characteristics of experimentally recorded activity.
Here we present the Spatio-Temporally CALibrated (S-TCAL) rate-based model of feature map development and cortical activity at parafoveal eccentricity of 4-5° in macaque. This model is a variant on GCAL [2] with spatially calibrated connectivity and temporal activity profiles in the lateral geniculate nucleus (LGN) and V1. The aim is to determine whether dynamics of V1 activity can be explained with a rate based model, using connectivity organised through visual experience without simulating spiking potentials.

[1] Geofrrey J. Goodhill. Contributions of Theoretical Modeling to the Understanding of Neural Map Development. Neuron Review 56:301-310, 2007.
[2] James A. Bednar. Building a mechanistic model of the development and function of the primary visual cortex. Journal of Physiology (Paris), 2012. In press.