UNIVERSITY OF HERTFORDSHIRE
             COMPUTER SCIENCE RESEARCH COLLOQUIUM

                            presents

     "The mind of a worm: from connectomes to the neural control of behaviour"

                      Prof. Netta Cohen
        (School of Computing, University of Leeds)

                     9 March 2022 (Wednesday)
                      13:00 -14:00 

                  Everyone is Welcome to Attend

                          (over Zoom)

Abstract:

Biological systems solve computational problems in remarkable ways.  Animals,
in particular, have nervous systems that allow them to sense and act on the
environment in ways that bewilder the imagination. Amongst the simplest animal
nervous systems are those of nematodes or roundworms. Here I will present some
recent progress in modelling the neural organization and control of behaviour in
one nematode: the model system C.  elegans. I will begin with an immense resource:
access to the neural wiring diagram or “connectome” of C. elegans. Focusing initially
on the head circuit I will demonstrate key features about the organization of the
‘mind of the worm’. To shed light on the neural control of behaviour, I will introduce a
number of sub-problems, limited both in the behaviours and neural circuits being studied,
with examples from locomotion, navigation, sensory integration and behavioural
"choice".


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Hertfordshire Computer Science Research Colloquium
http://cs-colloq.cs.herts.ac.uk