Mark L. Latash
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195333169
- eISBN:
- 9780199864195
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195333169.003.0006
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Sensory and Motor Systems, Techniques
The sixth part of the book reviews applications of the described approach to atypical and changing movements. It starts with a discussion of the notion of normality and its applicability to motor ...
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The sixth part of the book reviews applications of the described approach to atypical and changing movements. It starts with a discussion of the notion of normality and its applicability to motor synergies. An argument is made that “normal synergies” do not exist. Further, plasticity within the central nervous system is discussed with a Digression on transcranial magnetic stimulation, a commonly used tool to study brain plasticity. The next three sections within this part deal with effects of healthy aging, atypical development (Down syndrome), and neurological disorder (stroke) on movement patterns and motor synergies. Finally, the effects of practice on motor synergies are discussed with examples that document two stages in motor learning, the creation and strengthening of appropriate synergies, and the apparent weakening of the synergies when movement patterns are optimized with respect to other factors such as energy expenditure, fatigue, esthetics, etc.Less
The sixth part of the book reviews applications of the described approach to atypical and changing movements. It starts with a discussion of the notion of normality and its applicability to motor synergies. An argument is made that “normal synergies” do not exist. Further, plasticity within the central nervous system is discussed with a Digression on transcranial magnetic stimulation, a commonly used tool to study brain plasticity. The next three sections within this part deal with effects of healthy aging, atypical development (Down syndrome), and neurological disorder (stroke) on movement patterns and motor synergies. Finally, the effects of practice on motor synergies are discussed with examples that document two stages in motor learning, the creation and strengthening of appropriate synergies, and the apparent weakening of the synergies when movement patterns are optimized with respect to other factors such as energy expenditure, fatigue, esthetics, etc.
Karl M. Newell, Yeou-Teh Liu, and Gottfried Mayer-Kress
- Published in print:
- 2009
- Published Online:
- September 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195300598
- eISBN:
- 9780199867165
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195300598.003.0006
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology, Developmental Psychology
This chapter examines the origins of the construct of timescales as expressed in Waddington's (1957) metaphor for development of the epigenetic landscape, and its subsequent use as a metaphor for ...
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This chapter examines the origins of the construct of timescales as expressed in Waddington's (1957) metaphor for development of the epigenetic landscape, and its subsequent use as a metaphor for change in learning/development in theoretical frameworks, both connectionist and dynamical systems. It presents an epigenetic landscape model for motor learning and development, which is constructed as a low-dimensional approximation of a high-dimensional (or infinitely dimensional) complex dynamical system that possesses a score, error, or fitness function. The chapter concludes by illustrating briefly three case studies of the timescales of change in the epigenetic landscape framework to motor learning and development.Less
This chapter examines the origins of the construct of timescales as expressed in Waddington's (1957) metaphor for development of the epigenetic landscape, and its subsequent use as a metaphor for change in learning/development in theoretical frameworks, both connectionist and dynamical systems. It presents an epigenetic landscape model for motor learning and development, which is constructed as a low-dimensional approximation of a high-dimensional (or infinitely dimensional) complex dynamical system that possesses a score, error, or fitness function. The chapter concludes by illustrating briefly three case studies of the timescales of change in the epigenetic landscape framework to motor learning and development.
Jay M. Goldberg, Victor J. Wilson, Kathleen E. Cullen, Dora E. Angelaki, Dianne M. Broussard, Jean A. Büttner-Ennever, Kikuro Fukushima, and Lloyd B. Minor
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- May 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780195167085
- eISBN:
- 9780199932153
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195167085.003.0013
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Sensory and Motor Systems
Neuronal systems must learn how to adapt to changes in their intrinsic structure or in the environment. The vestibular system is no exception. Several features have made it an attractive system in ...
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Neuronal systems must learn how to adapt to changes in their intrinsic structure or in the environment. The vestibular system is no exception. Several features have made it an attractive system in which to study the neurobiology of learning. These include the relatively simple circuitry of its reflex pathways and their close relation to the cerebellum, a major site of motor learning. This chapter discusses two examples of adaptive plasticity: motor learning involving the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and visual feedback; and compensation for the imbalance introduced by removal of the vestibular labyrinth or section of the vestibular nerve on one side.Less
Neuronal systems must learn how to adapt to changes in their intrinsic structure or in the environment. The vestibular system is no exception. Several features have made it an attractive system in which to study the neurobiology of learning. These include the relatively simple circuitry of its reflex pathways and their close relation to the cerebellum, a major site of motor learning. This chapter discusses two examples of adaptive plasticity: motor learning involving the vestibulo-ocular reflex (VOR) and visual feedback; and compensation for the imbalance introduced by removal of the vestibular labyrinth or section of the vestibular nerve on one side.
Amanda Woodward and Amy Needham (eds)
- Published in print:
- 2008
- Published Online:
- September 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195301151
- eISBN:
- 9780199894246
- Item type:
- book
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195301151.001.0001
- Subject:
- Psychology, Developmental Psychology
When asking how cognition comes to take its mature form, learning seems to be an obvious factor to consider. However, until quite recently, there has been very little contact between investigations ...
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When asking how cognition comes to take its mature form, learning seems to be an obvious factor to consider. However, until quite recently, there has been very little contact between investigations of how infants learn and what infants know. For example, on the one hand, research efforts focused on infants' foundational conceptual knowledge — what they know about the physical permanence of objects, causal relations, and human intentions — often do not consider how learning may contribute to the structure of this knowledge. On the other hand, research efforts focused on infants' perceptual and motor learning — how they extract information from the environment, tune their behavior patterns according to this information, and generalize learning to new situations — often do not consider the potential impacts of these perceptual and learning mechanisms the structure of conceptual knowledge. Although each of these research efforts has made significant progress, this research has done little to narrow the divide between the disparate traditions of learning and knowledge. The chapters in this book document insights that emerge when researchers who come from diverse domains and use different approaches make a genuine attempt to bridge this divide. The book considers both infants' knowledge across domains, including knowledge of objects, physical relations between objects, categories, people, and language, and learning broadly construed, bringing to bear direct laboratory manipulations of learning and more general considerations of the relations between experience and knowledge.Less
When asking how cognition comes to take its mature form, learning seems to be an obvious factor to consider. However, until quite recently, there has been very little contact between investigations of how infants learn and what infants know. For example, on the one hand, research efforts focused on infants' foundational conceptual knowledge — what they know about the physical permanence of objects, causal relations, and human intentions — often do not consider how learning may contribute to the structure of this knowledge. On the other hand, research efforts focused on infants' perceptual and motor learning — how they extract information from the environment, tune their behavior patterns according to this information, and generalize learning to new situations — often do not consider the potential impacts of these perceptual and learning mechanisms the structure of conceptual knowledge. Although each of these research efforts has made significant progress, this research has done little to narrow the divide between the disparate traditions of learning and knowledge. The chapters in this book document insights that emerge when researchers who come from diverse domains and use different approaches make a genuine attempt to bridge this divide. The book considers both infants' knowledge across domains, including knowledge of objects, physical relations between objects, categories, people, and language, and learning broadly construed, bringing to bear direct laboratory manipulations of learning and more general considerations of the relations between experience and knowledge.
Howard Eichenbaum and Neal J. Cohen
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- January 2008
- ISBN:
- 9780195178043
- eISBN:
- 9780199871223
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195178043.003.0005
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter reviews cases of amnesia and evidence from functional brain imaging to provide insights about the nature of memory supported by the hippocampal memory system. The case of the famous ...
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This chapter reviews cases of amnesia and evidence from functional brain imaging to provide insights about the nature of memory supported by the hippocampal memory system. The case of the famous amnesic patient H. M. show that memory can be distinguished from other psychological faculties. Furthermore, studies on H. M. distinguish declarative memory, which was severely impaired in his case, and spared working memory and non-memory perceptual, motor, and cognitive capacities. In addition, H. M. and other patients with damage to the hippocampal region had several preserved learning capacities including intact perceptual learning, motor skill learning, cognitive skill learning, pattern classification learning, classical conditioning of motor reflexes, and repetition priming. Thus, his memory impairment has been characterized as a deficit in explicit, declarative, or relational memory. Parallel studies using functional imaging of the brain have shown that the hippocampus is activated during encoding and retrieval in declarative memory.Less
This chapter reviews cases of amnesia and evidence from functional brain imaging to provide insights about the nature of memory supported by the hippocampal memory system. The case of the famous amnesic patient H. M. show that memory can be distinguished from other psychological faculties. Furthermore, studies on H. M. distinguish declarative memory, which was severely impaired in his case, and spared working memory and non-memory perceptual, motor, and cognitive capacities. In addition, H. M. and other patients with damage to the hippocampal region had several preserved learning capacities including intact perceptual learning, motor skill learning, cognitive skill learning, pattern classification learning, classical conditioning of motor reflexes, and repetition priming. Thus, his memory impairment has been characterized as a deficit in explicit, declarative, or relational memory. Parallel studies using functional imaging of the brain have shown that the hippocampus is activated during encoding and retrieval in declarative memory.
Theo Mulder
- Published in print:
- 1991
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780192617873
- eISBN:
- 9780191724312
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780192617873.003.0013
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Disorders of the Nervous System
This chapter discusses recent notions on motor control and learning. It aims to give the reader an impression of modern psychological thinking on motor control and learning. The learning of motor ...
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This chapter discusses recent notions on motor control and learning. It aims to give the reader an impression of modern psychological thinking on motor control and learning. The learning of motor control can be understood in terms of the acquisition of abstract plans or rules (or ways to link muscle-joint systems). Visual information, feedback, variability of practice, active movements, and ecologically valid context all play a role in this acquisition process. These requirements can be seen as instruments in the hands of a therapist, and can be employed in the development of a modern therapy.Less
This chapter discusses recent notions on motor control and learning. It aims to give the reader an impression of modern psychological thinking on motor control and learning. The learning of motor control can be understood in terms of the acquisition of abstract plans or rules (or ways to link muscle-joint systems). Visual information, feedback, variability of practice, active movements, and ecologically valid context all play a role in this acquisition process. These requirements can be seen as instruments in the hands of a therapist, and can be employed in the development of a modern therapy.
Scott R. Robinson and Michele R. Brumley
- Published in print:
- 2004
- Published Online:
- May 2009
- ISBN:
- 9780195162851
- eISBN:
- 9780199863891
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780195162851.003.0024
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Behavioral Neuroscience, Techniques
This chapter discusses fetal development in rats. Topics covered include the ecology of fetal development, movement and sensation during prenatal development, fetal action patterns, and ...
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This chapter discusses fetal development in rats. Topics covered include the ecology of fetal development, movement and sensation during prenatal development, fetal action patterns, and proprioceptive stimuli and motor learning. Research has confirmed that behavioral organization, coordinated movement, sensory responsiveness, and learning all can be expressed in the prenatal rat. Study of the rat fetus thus is well situated to complement existing research approaches with adult rats as well as simpler systems to understand basic problems in behavioral neuroscience and neurobehavioral development.Less
This chapter discusses fetal development in rats. Topics covered include the ecology of fetal development, movement and sensation during prenatal development, fetal action patterns, and proprioceptive stimuli and motor learning. Research has confirmed that behavioral organization, coordinated movement, sensory responsiveness, and learning all can be expressed in the prenatal rat. Study of the rat fetus thus is well situated to complement existing research approaches with adult rats as well as simpler systems to understand basic problems in behavioral neuroscience and neurobehavioral development.
Edmund T. Rolls and Alessandro Treves
- Published in print:
- 1997
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198524328
- eISBN:
- 9780191724466
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524328.003.0009
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Development
This chapter examines the cerebellum and basal ganglia, two non-neocortical brain systems involved in different aspects of the control of movement. The cerebellum has a remarkably regular neural ...
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This chapter examines the cerebellum and basal ganglia, two non-neocortical brain systems involved in different aspects of the control of movement. The cerebellum has a remarkably regular neural network architecture and evidence suggests that it has synaptic modification rules. The basal ganglia are implicated in motor habit learning and it might have a role in interfacing many cerebral cortical areas to systems for behavioural output.Less
This chapter examines the cerebellum and basal ganglia, two non-neocortical brain systems involved in different aspects of the control of movement. The cerebellum has a remarkably regular neural network architecture and evidence suggests that it has synaptic modification rules. The basal ganglia are implicated in motor habit learning and it might have a role in interfacing many cerebral cortical areas to systems for behavioural output.
David A.T. King and Richard F. Thompson
- Published in print:
- 2000
- Published Online:
- March 2012
- ISBN:
- 9780198524823
- eISBN:
- 9780191689246
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198524823.003.0015
- Subject:
- Psychology, Cognitive Psychology
This chapter provides a thorough review of the work that led to the identification of a restricted region of the cerebellum as the site of the ‘engram’ for skill learning. The chapter discusses the ...
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This chapter provides a thorough review of the work that led to the identification of a restricted region of the cerebellum as the site of the ‘engram’ for skill learning. The chapter discusses the criteria that have to be met before one is able to assign a role for a particular region of the brain as a substrate for memory. It then discusses how a combination of reversible neural inactivation and electrophysiology was used to establish that the nucleus interpositus and overlying cerebellar cortex contain the neural substrate for eyeblink conditioning in the rabbit. The chapter then reviews other evidence suggesting that this region of the cerebellum is also involved in other forms of motor skill learning, in the rabbit and in other species including humans. There is evidence that long-term depression, a long-term reduction in synaptic efficacy, plays an important role.Less
This chapter provides a thorough review of the work that led to the identification of a restricted region of the cerebellum as the site of the ‘engram’ for skill learning. The chapter discusses the criteria that have to be met before one is able to assign a role for a particular region of the brain as a substrate for memory. It then discusses how a combination of reversible neural inactivation and electrophysiology was used to establish that the nucleus interpositus and overlying cerebellar cortex contain the neural substrate for eyeblink conditioning in the rabbit. The chapter then reviews other evidence suggesting that this region of the cerebellum is also involved in other forms of motor skill learning, in the rabbit and in other species including humans. There is evidence that long-term depression, a long-term reduction in synaptic efficacy, plays an important role.
John Montgomery and David Bodznick
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198758860
- eISBN:
- 9780191834752
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198758860.003.0006
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Development, Molecular and Cellular Systems
Model systems have been critical to developing our understanding of cerebellar function. The vestibulo-ocular reflex stabilizes the eyes during head movement and depends on the cerebellum to maintain ...
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Model systems have been critical to developing our understanding of cerebellar function. The vestibulo-ocular reflex stabilizes the eyes during head movement and depends on the cerebellum to maintain accurate function. Classical conditioning of the eye blink reflex is an example of predictive motor learning where the role of the cerebellum is to appropriately time the conditioned response. Voluntary goal-directed behaviour, such as target-directed eye movements, harnesses the cerebellar circuitry to maintain accuracy and compensates for self-induced perturbations that occur during the movement such as an eye blink. In the general context of everyday movement, the role of the cerebellum in the actions and reactions that underlie animal athleticism is likely to be pervasive, but also inextricably intertwined with the wider motor control networks.Less
Model systems have been critical to developing our understanding of cerebellar function. The vestibulo-ocular reflex stabilizes the eyes during head movement and depends on the cerebellum to maintain accurate function. Classical conditioning of the eye blink reflex is an example of predictive motor learning where the role of the cerebellum is to appropriately time the conditioned response. Voluntary goal-directed behaviour, such as target-directed eye movements, harnesses the cerebellar circuitry to maintain accuracy and compensates for self-induced perturbations that occur during the movement such as an eye blink. In the general context of everyday movement, the role of the cerebellum in the actions and reactions that underlie animal athleticism is likely to be pervasive, but also inextricably intertwined with the wider motor control networks.
Reza Shadmehr and Sandro Mussa-Ivaldi
- Published in print:
- 2012
- Published Online:
- August 2013
- ISBN:
- 9780262016964
- eISBN:
- 9780262301282
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262016964.003.0004
- Subject:
- Neuroscience, Research and Theory
This chapter describes how the brain forms maps of the body in relation to the internal world. It illustrates that arm movements cannot be controlled by some linear feedback mechanism. It shifts the ...
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This chapter describes how the brain forms maps of the body in relation to the internal world. It illustrates that arm movements cannot be controlled by some linear feedback mechanism. It shifts the discussion from neuroscience to robotics. This chapter shows that the force-field experiments illustrate the keen ability of the brain to deal with dynamics and with the concept of “state.” It addresses the maps that the brains must form to manipulate the environment. It introduces the concept that motor learning is a dynamical process whose state is the associated internal model of the body and its environment.Less
This chapter describes how the brain forms maps of the body in relation to the internal world. It illustrates that arm movements cannot be controlled by some linear feedback mechanism. It shifts the discussion from neuroscience to robotics. This chapter shows that the force-field experiments illustrate the keen ability of the brain to deal with dynamics and with the concept of “state.” It addresses the maps that the brains must form to manipulate the environment. It introduces the concept that motor learning is a dynamical process whose state is the associated internal model of the body and its environment.
Angela D. Friederici and Noam Chomsky
- Published in print:
- 2017
- Published Online:
- May 2018
- ISBN:
- 9780262036924
- eISBN:
- 9780262342964
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- The MIT Press
- DOI:
- 10.7551/mitpress/9780262036924.003.0008
- Subject:
- Linguistics, Historical Linguistics
The past and current views of language evolution all center around a crucial question: What led to the human faculty of language and can it be explained by continuity of phylogenesis from non-human ...
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The past and current views of language evolution all center around a crucial question: What led to the human faculty of language and can it be explained by continuity of phylogenesis from non-human to human primates? The view that is presented here holds that the difference between human and non-human primates lies in the structure of their brains, particularly in the way the relevant brain areas are connected by white matter fiber tracts. During the evolution of language two crucial abilities had to evolve: these are first, sensory-motor learning, and second, the ability to process hierarchical structures. Across-species comparisons between the human and non-human primate brain reveal cytoarchitectonic and connectivity differences. Although still under discussion, the available paleoanthropological findings suggest a reorganization of the brain during phylogeny, and a possible rewiring which, due to the prolonged ontogeny in humans, is shaped by environmental input.Less
The past and current views of language evolution all center around a crucial question: What led to the human faculty of language and can it be explained by continuity of phylogenesis from non-human to human primates? The view that is presented here holds that the difference between human and non-human primates lies in the structure of their brains, particularly in the way the relevant brain areas are connected by white matter fiber tracts. During the evolution of language two crucial abilities had to evolve: these are first, sensory-motor learning, and second, the ability to process hierarchical structures. Across-species comparisons between the human and non-human primate brain reveal cytoarchitectonic and connectivity differences. Although still under discussion, the available paleoanthropological findings suggest a reorganization of the brain during phylogeny, and a possible rewiring which, due to the prolonged ontogeny in humans, is shaped by environmental input.
Egidio D’Angelo
- Published in print:
- 2016
- Published Online:
- January 2017
- ISBN:
- 9780198749783
- eISBN:
- 9780191831638
- Item type:
- chapter
- Publisher:
- Oxford University Press
- DOI:
- 10.1093/acprof:oso/9780198749783.003.0003
- Subject:
- Psychology, Neuropsychology
Marr’s Motor Learning Theory (MLT) theory (Marr, 1969) represents a seminal example of how the structure/function relationship in a neural circuit can be conceptualized. It has laid the basis for ...
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Marr’s Motor Learning Theory (MLT) theory (Marr, 1969) represents a seminal example of how the structure/function relationship in a neural circuit can be conceptualized. It has laid the basis for cerebellar investigations for almost half a century. The foundations of MLT are that (1) the cerebellum granular layer generates a sparse representation of mossy fiber inputs that is then conveyed to Purkinje cells through the parallel fibers; and that (2) the connections between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells adjust their weights depending on teaching signals coming from the inferior olive through the climbing fibers. The MLT elegantly solved the problem of how the cerebellum might act as an adaptable controller and operate in several forms of behavior. Nonetheless, the MLT was based on connection statistics and lacked biological details about spatiotemporal dynamics and circuit geometry, so that it has been subsequently challenged by experimental findings related to neuronal and synaptic time-dependent properties, mechanisms and forms of long-term plasticity, and local connectivity rules. Interestingly, the fundamental intuition about the relationship between structure and function was supported by experimental findings on granular layer processing, Purkinje cell integration and parallel fiber plasticity. At present, the need to account for critical experimental observations has promoted the development of new biophysically-grounded models, which may lack the elegance of the initial MLT intuition but provide insight on how the neuronal circuit could operate dynamically during signal processing in the spatio-temporal domain.Less
Marr’s Motor Learning Theory (MLT) theory (Marr, 1969) represents a seminal example of how the structure/function relationship in a neural circuit can be conceptualized. It has laid the basis for cerebellar investigations for almost half a century. The foundations of MLT are that (1) the cerebellum granular layer generates a sparse representation of mossy fiber inputs that is then conveyed to Purkinje cells through the parallel fibers; and that (2) the connections between parallel fibers and Purkinje cells adjust their weights depending on teaching signals coming from the inferior olive through the climbing fibers. The MLT elegantly solved the problem of how the cerebellum might act as an adaptable controller and operate in several forms of behavior. Nonetheless, the MLT was based on connection statistics and lacked biological details about spatiotemporal dynamics and circuit geometry, so that it has been subsequently challenged by experimental findings related to neuronal and synaptic time-dependent properties, mechanisms and forms of long-term plasticity, and local connectivity rules. Interestingly, the fundamental intuition about the relationship between structure and function was supported by experimental findings on granular layer processing, Purkinje cell integration and parallel fiber plasticity. At present, the need to account for critical experimental observations has promoted the development of new biophysically-grounded models, which may lack the elegance of the initial MLT intuition but provide insight on how the neuronal circuit could operate dynamically during signal processing in the spatio-temporal domain.
