Current: Sensory fusion using integrated information from visual and auditory sensors in forming a spatial map.
In the midbrain of the barn owl, a map of space is first created using sound localization cues such as interaural time differences (ITD) and interaural level differences (ILD). This information is projected to an area in the midbrain called the optic tectum (OT) where it is compared with the visual information from the retina and the forebrain. The auditory space map is tuned/calibrated by visual experience during development. Although preferred/hardwired topographic connections are established during normal development, owls in which the visual field is displaced, for example by making newborn or juvenile owls wear prismatic spectacles, it is found that the auditory space map retunes/ re-aligns in response to a misaligned/shifted visual input. The instructive signal for re-alignment comes form the OT and is thought to be gated by attention. Adaptive plasticity is also found in the OT, especially, in older juvenile and adult owls. I am presently working on modeling this calibration process in the ICX and OT, in particular, using spiking networks.
In parallel, I am also modifying the latest silicon cochlea for future use in my hardware-spiking module of sensory fusion.
Long-term goal: Modeling of sensory fusion in the barn owl and implementation of this model on an asynchronous spike-based hardware system.