Paper: From Neurons to Brain: Adaptive Self-Wiring of Neurons

[Ronen Segev]

Dear Connectionist,

The following paper will be published at 
Journal of Complex Systems, vol 1, (1998).
Hard copies can be obtained by sending an email to:
segevr at post.tau.ac.il
An electronic version can be found at:
http://xxx.lanl.gov/find/cond-mat/1/segev/0/1/0/past/3/0
Your comments are welcome!

Ronen Segev,
email: segevr at post.tau.ac.il,
School of Physics & Astronomy,
Tel Aviv university.


Title: From Neurons to Brain: Adaptive Self-Wiring of Neurons
Authors: Ronen Segev , Eshel Ben-Jacob
Comments: Latex, 12 pages, 9 gif figures.
Report-no: S2
Subj-class: Neural Networks and Disorderd Systems.
Journal-ref: J. Comp. Sys. 1 (1998)

During embryonic morpho-genesis, a collection of individual neurons
turns into a functioning network with unique capabilities. Only
recently has 
this most staggering example of emergent process in 
the natural world, began to be studied. Here we propose
a navigational strategy for neurites growth cones, based
on sophisticated chemical signaling. We further propose that the embryonic
environment (the neurons and the glia cells) acts as an excitable media
in which concentric and spiral chemical waves are formed. Together with
the
navigation strategy, the chemical waves provide a mechanism for 
communication, regulation, and control required for the adaptive self-wiring
of neurons.