Email:	sabina@ini.phys.ethz.ch
Work phone:	4144 635 30 46
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Simulation and analysis of cortical development

As computer hardware and software get more faster and complex, there is growing interst toward self-constructing, self-configuring and self-repairing systems. The most striking example of a self-building structure is the brain. Unlike conventional computers, brain development does not rely on an external agency for the construction process, but is the result of the genetic program encoded in few progenitor cells and their interactions with the local environment. Understanding the principles of biological programs in development is thus of great interest for future research on self-constructing computing systems. In this project we will study the development of the neocortex in primates. The neocortex is a six-layered structure with a regular neuronal organization and a remarkable computational power. Using direct experimental approches, modeling and simulation we want to identify how intrinsic programs and external inputs regulate the development of such a complex and flexible neuronal network.