Positions
- Professor
-
Department of Neuroscience
Baylor College of Medicine
Houston, United States
Education
- M.A. from Swiss Federal Institute Of Technology
- 01/1989 - Zurich, Switzerland
- B.A. from Swiss Federal Institute Of Technology
- 01/1989 - Zurich, Switzerland
- Ph.D. from Swiss Federal Institute Of Technology
- 01/1992 - Zurich, Switzerland
- Advanced Training from Institute for Theoretical Physics (ETHZ)
- 01/1993 - Zurich, Switzerland
- Advanced Training from California Institute Of Technology
- 01/1996 - Pasadena, CA United States
Professional Interests
- Biophysics of information processing in the nervous system.
Professional Statement
The laboratory is interested in computational aspects of sensory information processing from the single cell to the network level. The mechanisms underlying information processing by neurons and neuronal networks are currently the subject of intense investigations. In visual sensory systems, significant progress has been made in understanding the circuitry and the response dynamics underlying the receptive field properties of visual neurons. Our understanding of the cellular and dendritic mechanisms that could contribute to the processing of sensory information in single neurons has also been greatly increased. However, still very little is known about how the biophysical properties of single neurons are actually used to implement specific computations. Two types of neuronal computations thought to be fundamental to the processing of information within the nervous system are the multiplication of independent signals and invariance of neuronal responses.We are studying collision avoidance in the visual system of the locust as a model to investigate these questions. The locust optic lobes possess an identified neuron, the lobula giant motion detector neuron (LGMD), which responds vigorously to objects approaching on a collision course with the animal (looming stimuli). The firing rate of the LGMD peaks when an approaching object approximately reaches a constant angular threshold size on the retina, suggesting that angular threshold might be the variable used to trigger escape and collision avoidance behaviors. The time-course of the firing rate of this neuron in response to looming stimuli is best described by multiplying two inputs impinging on the dendrites of the LGMD. One input is excitatory and sensitive to motion while the other input is inhibitory and sensitive to size. Current evidence suggests that this multiplication is in part implemented within the dendritic tree of the neuron. Furthermore, the response of the LGMD is invariant to a wide range of looming stimulus parameters, including the contrast, the texture, the angle of approach and the particular shape of the approaching object. Because the LGMD can be reliably identified from animal to animal and recorded intracellularly for extended periods of time, it offers an ideal model to investigate the biophysical mechanisms underlying these computations.
Websites
Selected Publications
- Chan RW, Gabbiani F "Collision-avoidance behaviors of minimally restrained flying locusts to looming stimuli.." J. Exp. Biol.. 2013 February 15; 216 : 641-55. Pubmed PMID: 23364572
- Jones PW, Gabbiani F "Logarithmic Compression of Sensory Signals within the Dendritic Tree of a Collision-Sensitive Neuron.." J. Neurosci.. 2012 April 4; 32 (14): 4923-34. Pubmed PMID: 22492048
- Dewell RB, Gabbiani F "Escape behavior: linking neural computation to action.." Curr. Biol.. 2012 March 6; 22 (5): R152-3. Pubmed PMID: 22401892
- Jones PW, Gabbiani F "Synchronized neural input shapes stimulus selectivity in a collision-detecting neuron.." Curr. Biol.. 2010 November 23; 20 (22): 2052-7. Pubmed PMID: 21055939
- Gabbiani F, Jones PW "A genetic push to understand motion detection.." Neuron. 2011 June 23; 70 (6): 1023-5. Pubmed PMID: 21689590
- Fotowat H, Fayyazuddin A, Bellen HJ, Gabbiani F "A novel neuronal pathway for visually guided escape in Drosophila melanogaster.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2009 August ; 102 (2): 875-85. Pubmed PMID: 19474177
- Gabbiani F "A switch for oscillatory bursting.." Nat. Neurosci.. 2003 March ; 6 (3): 212-3. Pubmed PMID: 12601379
- Krahe R, Gabbiani F "Burst firing in sensory systems.." Nat. Rev. Neurosci.. 2004 January ; 5 (1): 13-23. Pubmed PMID: 14661065
- Prank K, Gabbiani F, Brabant G "Coding efficiency and information rates in transmembrane signaling.." BioSystems. 2000 February ; 55 (41277): 15-22. Pubmed PMID: 10745104
- Wessel R, Koch C, Gabbiani F "Coding of time-varying electric field amplitude modulations in a wave-type electric fish.." J. Neurophysiol.. 1996 June ; 75 (6): 2280-93. Pubmed PMID: 8793741
- Prank K, Schöfl C, Läer L, Wagner M, von zur Mühlen A, Brabant G, Gabbiani F "Coding of time-varying hormonal signals in intracellular calcium spike trains.." Pac Symp Biocomput. 1998 : 633-44. Pubmed PMID: 9697218
- Fotowat H, Gabbiani F "Collision detection as a model for sensory-motor integration.." Annu. Rev. Neurosci.. 2011 34 : 41293. Pubmed PMID: 21391815
- Laurent G, Gabbiani F "Collision-avoidance: nature's many solutions.." Nat. Neurosci.. 1998 August ; 1 (4): 261-3. Pubmed PMID: 10195154
- Gabbiani F, Krapp HG, Laurent G "Computation of object approach by a wide-field, motion-sensitive neuron.." J. Neurosci.. 1999 February 1; 19 (3): 1122-41. Pubmed PMID: 9920674
- Kropp M, Gabbiani F, Prank K "Differential coding of humoral stimuli by timing and amplitude of intracellular calcium spike trains.." Syst Biol (Stevenage). 2005 December ; 152 (4): 263-8. Pubmed PMID: 16986269
- Hatsopoulos N, Gabbiani F, Laurent G "Elementary computation of object approach by wide-field visual neuron.." Science. 1995 November 10; 270 (5238): 1000-3. Pubmed PMID: 15290817
- Metzner W, Koch C, Wessel R, Gabbiani F "Feature extraction by burst-like spike patterns in multiple sensory maps.." J. Neurosci.. 1998 March 15; 18 (6): 2283-300. Pubmed PMID: 9482813
- Gabbiani F, Metzner W, Wessel R, Koch C "From stimulus encoding to feature extraction in weakly electric fish.." Nature. 1996 December 12; 384 (6609): 564-7. Pubmed PMID: 8955269
- Peters RJ, Gabbiani F, Koch C "Human visual object categorization can be described by models with low memory capacity.." Vision Res.. 2003 September ; 43 (21): 2265-80. Pubmed PMID: 12885380
- Jones PW, Gabbiani F "Impact of neural noise on a sensory-motor pathway signaling impending collision.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2012 February ; 107 (4): 1067-79. Pubmed PMID: 22114160
- Peron SP, Krapp HG, Gabbiani F "Influence of electrotonic structure and synaptic mapping on the receptive field properties of a collision-detecting neuron.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2007 January ; 97 (1): 159-77. Pubmed PMID: 17021031
- Gabbiani F "Interpolating between Cellular Biophysics and Computation in Single Neurons.." Neuron. 2003 March 27; 37 (6): 890-1. Pubmed PMID: 12670417
- Gabbiani F, Mo C, Laurent G "Invariance of angular threshold computation in a wide-field looming-sensitive neuron.." J. Neurosci.. 2001 January 1; 21 (1): 314-29. Pubmed PMID: 11150349
- Fotowat H, Harrison RR, Gabbiani F "Multiplexing of Motor Information in the Discharge of a Collision Detecting Neuron during Escape Behaviors.." Neuron. 2011 January 13; 69 (1): 147-58. Pubmed PMID: 21220105
- Gabbiani F, Krapp HG, Hatsopoulos N, Mo CH, Koch C, Laurent G "Multiplication and stimulus invariance in a looming-sensitive neuron.." J. Physiol. Paris. 98 (41277): 19-34. Pubmed PMID: 15477020
- Sigala N, Gabbiani F, Logothetis NK "Visual categorization and object representation in monkeys and humans.." J Cogn Neurosci. 2002 February 15; 14 (2): 187-98. Pubmed PMID: 11970785
- Gabbiani F, Cohen I, Laurent G "Time-dependent activation of feed-forward inhibition in a looming-sensitive neuron.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2005 September ; 94 (3): 2150-61. Pubmed PMID: 15928055
- Gabbiani F, Laurent G, Hatsopoulos N, Krapp HG "The many ways of building collision-sensitive neurons.." Trends Neurosci.. 1999 October ; 22 (10): 437-8. Pubmed PMID: 10481188
- Gabbiani F, Midtgaard J, Knöpfel T "Synaptic integration in a model of cerebellar granule cells.." J. Neurophysiol.. 1994 August ; 72 (2): 999-1009. Pubmed PMID: 7527078
- Krahe R, Kreiman G, Gabbiani F, Koch C, Metzner W "Stimulus encoding and feature extraction by multiple sensory neurons.." J. Neurosci.. 2002 March 15; 22 (6): 2374-82. Pubmed PMID: 11896176
- Gabbiani F, Krapp HG "Spike-frequency adaptation and intrinsic properties of an identified, looming-sensitive neuron.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2006 December ; 96 (6): 2951-62. Pubmed PMID: 16571737
- Peron S, Gabbiani F "Spike frequency adaptation mediates looming stimulus selectivity in a collision-detecting neuron.." Nat. Neurosci.. 2009 March ; 12 (3): 318-26. Pubmed PMID: 19198607
- Rogers SM, Harston GW, Kilburn-Toppin F, Matheson T, Burrows M, Gabbiani F, Krapp HG "Spatiotemporal receptive field properties of a looming-sensitive neuron in solitarious and gregarious phases of the desert locust.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2010 February ; 103 (2): 779-92. Pubmed PMID: 19955292
- Krapp HG, Gabbiani F "Spatial distribution of inputs and local receptive field properties of a wide-field, looming sensitive neuron.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2005 April ; 93 (4): 2240-53. Pubmed PMID: 15548622
- Peron SP, Gabbiani F "Role of spike-frequency adaptation in shaping neuronal response to dynamic stimuli.." Biol Cybern. 2009 June ; 100 (6): 505-20. Pubmed PMID: 19381681
- Gabbiani F, Krapp HG, Koch C, Laurent G "Multiplicative computation in a visual neuron sensitive to looming.." Nature. 2002 November 21; 420 (6913): 320-4. Pubmed PMID: 12447440
- Peron SP, Jones PW, Gabbiani F "Precise subcellular input retinotopy and its computational consequences in an identified visual interneuron.." Neuron. 2009 September 24; 63 (6): 830-42. Pubmed PMID: 19778511
- Fotowat H, Gabbiani F "Relationship between the phases of sensory and motor activity during a looming-evoked multistage escape behavior.." J. Neurosci.. 2007 September 12; 27 (37): 10047-59. Pubmed PMID: 17855619
- Kreiman G, Krahe R, Metzner W, Koch C, Gabbiani F "Robustness and variability of neuronal coding by amplitude-sensitive afferents in the weakly electric fish eigenmannia.." J. Neurophysiol.. 2000 July ; 84 (1): 189-204. Pubmed PMID: 10899196
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