Tatjana Tchumatchenko is awarded a DFG grant to investigate contrast invariance
Tatjana´s project is part of the Priority Programme "Computational Connectomics", a newly established research programme which aims to facilitate the automated reconstruction of neural connectivity by strengthening the cooperation between experimental and theoretical research.
Tatjana Tchumatchenko is heading the Theory of Neural Dynamics Group at the Max Planck Institute for Brain Research. With this three-year grant, Tatjana and her team will evaluate how "contrast invariance", a key feature commonly observed in mammalian primary visual cortex, puts constraints on neural connectivity and on possible mechanisms underlying orientation selectivity and contrast processing. Tatjana Tchumatchenko and her postdoc Nataliya Kraynyukova will work in close collaboration with experimentalist Laura Busse from the Ludwig-Maximilians University of Munich who will provide in vivo data of neural activity in the mouse early visual cortex.
This joint effort will provide insights into how restraints imposed by contrast invariance shape synaptic connections of neurons as well as their functional responses, thereby furthering the understanding of the connectome. The Max Planck Institute for Brain Research congratulates Tatjana Tchumatchenko and her team on this accomplishment.
