Self-organization and the selection of pinwheel density in visual cortical development

Open Access
Publisher Website
Google Scholar
Abstract
Self-organization of neural circuitry is an appealing framework for understanding cortical development, yet its applicability remains unconfirmed. Models for the self-organization of neural circuits have been proposed, but experimentally testable predictions of these models have been less clear. The visual cortex contains a large number of topological point defects, called pinwheels, which are detectable in experiments and therefore in principle well suited for testing predictions of self-organization empirically. Here, we analytically calculate the density of pinwheels predicted by a pattern formation model of visual cortical development. An important factor controlling the density of pinwheels in this model appears to be the presence of non-local long-range interactions, a property which distinguishes cortical circuits from many non-living systems in which self-organization has been studied. We show that in the limit where the range of these interactions is infinite, the average pinwheel density converges to pi. Moreover, an average pinwheel density close to this value is robustly selected even for intermediate interaction ranges, a regime arguably covering interaction ranges in a wide range of different species. In conclusion, our paper provides the first direct theoretical demonstration and analysis of pinwheel density selection in models of cortical self-organization and suggests quantitatively probing this type of prediction in future high-precision experiments.
All Related Versions