CNI Speaker Series: Nathan Urban

Nathan Urban
Center for the Neural Basis of Cognition
University of Pittsburgh

Olfactory Computation

The olfactory system is capable of some remarkable feats of sensory computation and does so with some unusual circuit and synaptic properties. We take a primarily "bottom up" approach to understanding how features of olfactory system cells and circuits give rise to the remarkable computational properties of this system. In particular, I will discuss how features such as cell-to-cell differences, reciprocal connectivity and parallelism in output circuits may contribute to important elements of olfactory system function. I will also discuss some recent attempts to approach related questions by generating a better understanding of how animals use their olfactory systems to navigate in complex environments.


A pizza lunch will be served.