Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-q99xh Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-26T06:50:21.624Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false

What is optimized in an optimal path?

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  08 October 2013

Fraser T. Sparks
Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology, The Robert F. Furchgott Center for Neural and Behavioral Science, State University of New York – Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203. [email protected]@downstate.eduhttp://coronaradiata.net
Kally C. O'Reilly
Affiliation:
Center for Neural Science, New York University, New York, NY 10003. [email protected]
John L. Kubie
Affiliation:
Department of Cell Biology, The Robert F. Furchgott Center for Neural and Behavioral Science, State University of New York – Downstate Medical Center, Brooklyn, NY 11203. [email protected]@downstate.eduhttp://coronaradiata.net

Abstract

An animal confronts numerous challenges when constructing an optimal navigational route. Spatial representations used for path optimization are likely constrained by critical environmental factors that dictate which neural systems control navigation. Multiple coding schemes depend upon their ecological relevance for a particular species, particularly when dealing with the third, or vertical, dimension of space.

Type
Open Peer Commentary
Copyright
Copyright © Cambridge University Press 2013 

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

References

Blum, K. I. & Abbott, L. F. (1996) A model of spatial map formation in the hippocampus of the rat. Neural Computation 8:8593.Google Scholar
Burgess, N. & O'Keefe, J. (1996) Neuronal computations underlying the firing of place cells and their role in navigation. Hippocampus 6:749–62.Google Scholar
Eaton, M. D., Evans, D. L., Hodgson, D. R. & Rose, R. J. (1995) Effect of treadmill incline and speed on metabolic rate during exercise in thoroughbred horses. Journal of Applied Physiology 79(3):951–57.Google Scholar
Euston, D. R. & Takahashi, T. T. (2002) From spectrum to space: The contribution of level difference cues to spatial receptive fields in the barn owl inferior colliculus. Journal of Neuroscience 22(1):284–93.CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Knudsen, E. I. & Konishi, M. (1978a) A neural map of auditory space in the owl. Science 200:795–97.Google Scholar
Knudsen, E. I. & Konishi, M. (1978b) Space and frequency are represented separately in auditory midbrain of the owl. Journal of Neurophysiology 41:870–84.Google Scholar
Konishi, M. (1973) How the owl tracks its prey. American Science 61:414–24.Google Scholar
Muller, R. U. & Stead, M. (1996) Hippocampal place cells connected by Hebbian synapses can solve spatial problems. Hippocampus 6(6):709–19.Google Scholar
Payne, R. S. (1971) Acoustic location of prey by barn owls (Tyto alba). Journal of Experimental Biology 54:535–73.Google Scholar
Silder, A., Besier, T. & Delp, S. L. (2012) Predicting the metabolic cost of incline walking from muscle activity and walking mechanics. Journal of Biomechanics 45(10):1842–49.Google Scholar
Takahashi, T. T., Bala, A. D., Spitzer, M. W., Euston, D. R., Spezio, M. L. & Keller, C. H. (2003) The synthesis and use of the owl's auditory space map. Biological Cybernetics 89(5):378–87.Google Scholar