Computer-aided research into a natural neural network

While artificial neural networks are being applied to solving problems in signal processing and other domains, much remains to be discovered about how even the simpler biological neural networks function. Studying simpler examples of natural systems promises to advance our understanding of principles of organization of neural tissue wherever it occurs. It also may prove useful in the development of new computer architectures. Accordingly, we have begun the study of the macular linear bioaccelerometers, or 'balance organs' of mammals, using the rat as the model for the class. This effort will include creating a computer-based workbench that a scientist can use to generate geometric reconstructions of neural tissue from electron microscope serial sections, to create a functional model of information flow within the neural tissue, and ultimately to generate computer animations to visualize how the network functions. Our work to date is based upon the study of long series of sections in a transmission electron microscope.