Mark van Rossum 's Webpage

Lecturer at the School of Informatics, University of Edinburgh

Research Summary 

My research area is computational neuroscience. I use computational and mathematical techniques to understand the working of the brain. I hope that, like in physics, it will be possible to find simple underlying principles of the brain's functioning.
My particular interests are:

• Synaptic plasticity: [ref. 15,17,20,24]. Synaptic plasticity is thought to underly memory formation in the nervous system. I'm researching the computational consequences of realistic, spike timing dependent plasticity rules. In particular, the stability of memory and homeostasis [13,18] have my current interest.
  One particular project is about synaptic tagging and capture.

• Noise in neural systems: The nervous system has  extrinsic and intrinsic noise sources. From an engineering point of view this leads to the question, how does the nervous system deal with this noise. It turns out that the noise might be beneficial in some cases. More precisely, noise prevent synchronization (which reduces information content) and allows for fast and accurate propagation of signals [ref.16,19,22,26]

• The early visual system: The COLAMN project is a major UK project that tries to create a full computer model of primary visual cortex using detailed information about its anatomy and physiology, leading us towards the principles of neural computation and ultra efficient hardware implementations.
  

  The retina: Together with Rob Smith, I made a model of the rod-rodbipolar synapse [ref. 12]. This is the first synapse in the visual pathway and is important at very low light levels. In order to preserve signal quality, a special thresholding is required at this synapse. Some very good data on this system were recently measured. Together with Paul Clark I have extended the theory [ref 23]. We have also created a very realistic model of a ganglion cell with takes all known noise sources explicitly into account [21].
  

Former labs: 

Students

Group

Post-docs

Phd-Students (in our program all students have 2 supervisors)

MSc students/ UG students / visitors

Former members

Publications:

Regular articles

• 36. L.C. York and MvR,  Recurrent networks with short term synaptic depression Journal Computational Neuroscience 27, 607 (2009)

• 35. P. Nezis and MvR, Multiplication with noisy spiking neurons (preprint)

• 34. A. Greve, D.I. Donaldson, MvR, A single-trace dual-process model of episodic memory: a novel computational account of familiarity and recollection (in press Hippocampus)

• 33. A.B. Barrett, G.O Billings, R.G.M. Morris, and MvR, Biophysical Model of Long-Term Potentiation and Synaptic Tagging and Capture, PLOS Comp Biol 5, e1000259 (2009)

• 32. G.O. Billings and MvR, Memory retention and Spike Timing Dependent Plasticity, J. Neurophysiology 101, 2775-2788 (2009). Note

• 31. A. Greve, D. Sterratt, D.J. Willshaw, D. I. Donaldson, MvR, Optimal learning rules for familiarity detection, Biological Cybernetics 100, 11 (2009)
  

• 30. A.B. Barrett and MvR, Shannon information capacity of discrete synapses, PLOS Comp Biol. 4, e1000230 (2008)

• 29. J.M. Cortes, A. Greve, A.B. Barrett and MvR Dynamics and robustness of familiarity memory (in press Neural Computation)

• 28. MvR, M.A.A. van der Meer, D. Xiao, and M. W. Oram Contrast dependent latencies and adaptive integration in the visual cortex by depressing recurrent cortical connections, Neural Computation 20, 1847-1872, (2008)
  

• 27. M.A.A. van der Meer, J. J. Knierim, D. Yoganarasimha, E. R. Wood, MvR, Anticipation in the rodent head direction cell system can be  explained by an interaction of head movements and vestibular firing properties, Journal of Neurophysiology 98, 1883-1897 (2007)
  

• 26. Timothy M. Hospedales, MvR, Bruce P. Graham, and Mayank B. Dutia. Implications of noise and neural heterogeneity for vestibulo-ocular reflex fidelity, Neural Computation 20, 756-778 (2008).

• 25. A. Greve, MvR, D. I. Donaldson, Semantic and episodic memory systems interact through familiarity not recollection: Convergent behavioural and electro-physiological evidence, NeuroImage 34, 801-814 (2007)

• 24. M. K. Janowitz and MvR, Excitability changes that complement Hebbian learning, Network:Computation in Neural Systems 17,31-41 (2006), Note

• 23. P. Clark and MvR, The optimal synapse for sparse, binary signals in the rod pathway, Neural Computation 18, 26-44 (2006)
  

• 22. MvR and A. Renart, Computation with population codes in layered networks of integrate-and-fire neurons (CNS 2003, Alicante) Neurocomputing 58-60 265-270 (2004)

• 21. MvR, B.J. O'Brien,  and R.G. Smith, Effects of noise on the spike timing precision of retinal ganglion cells. Journal of Neurophysiology 89, 2406-2419 (2003)

• 20. A. Kepecs, MvR, S. Song, and J. Tegner, Spike timing dependent plasticity: common themes and divergent vistas, Biological Cybernetics 87, 446-458 (2002).

• 19. MvR, G.G. Turrigiano, and S.B. Nelson, Fast propagation of firing rates through layered networks of neurons, Journal of Neuroscience 22, 1956-1966 (2002) Note

• 18. V. Kilman, MvR and G.G. Turrigiano, Activity deprivation reduces mIPSC amplitude by decreasing the number of postsynaptic GABAa receptors clustered at neocortical synapses,Journal of Neuroscience 22, 1328-1337 (2002).

• 17. MvR and G.G. Turrigiano Correlation based learning from spike timing dependent plasticity, NeuroComputing 38-40, 409-415 (2001).

• 16. MvR Transient precision of integrate and fire neurons; effect of background activity and noise, Journal of Computational Neuroscience 10, 303-310 (2001).Note

• 15. MvR, G.-q. Bi, and G.G. Turrigiano, Stable Hebbian learning from spike time dependent plasticity, Journal of Neuroscience 20, 8812-8821 (2000).  Note

• 14. MvR, A novel spike distance, Neural Computation 13, 751-763 (2001)

• 13. A.J. Watt, MvR, K.M. MacLeod, S.B. Nelson, and G.G. Turrigiano, Activity co-regulates quantal AMPA and NMDA current at neocortical synapses, Neuron 23, 659-670 (2000)

• 12. MvR and R.G. Smith, Noise removal at the rod synapse of mammalian retina, Visual Neuroscience 15, 809-821 (1998)

• 11. MvR and Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen, Multiple scattering of classical waves: microscopy, mesoscopy and diffusion, Rev.Mod.Phys. 71,313-371 (1999) 

• 10. MvR, A new test of legibility, Quaerendo (Amsterdam) 27, 141-147 (1997)  (NOT THE ORIGINAL PAPER, BUT A MODIFIED REPORT)
  

• 9. MvR, I.V. Lerner, B.L. Altshuler, Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen, Deviations from the Gaussian distribution of mesoscopic conductance fluctuations, Phys.Rev.B 55, 4710-4716 (1997)

• 8. MvR, J.F. de Boer and Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen, Third cumulant of the total transmission of diffuse waves, Phys.Rev.E 52, 2053-2065, (1995)

• 7. MvR, Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and R. Vlaming, Optical conductance fluctuations: diagrammatic analysis and non-universal effects, Phys.Rev.E 51 6158-6176,(1995)

• 6. Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and MvR, Intensity distribution of waves transmitted through a multiple scattering medium, Phys.Rev.Lett.74, 2674-2678,(1995) 

• 5. J.F. de Boer, MvR, M.P. van Albada, Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and A. Lagendijk, Probability distribution of multiple scattered light measured in total transmission, Phys.Rev.Lett.73, 2567-2571, (1994)

• 4. MvR, Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen, E. Hofstetter and M. Schreiber, Density of states of disordered systems, Phys. Rev.B 49, 13377-13382,(1994)

• 3. Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and MvR, Role of a single scatterer in a multiple scattering medium, Phys. Lett.A 177, 102-106, (1993)

• 2. MvR and Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen, Influence of skin layers on speckle correlations of light transmitted through disordered media, Phys.Lett.A 177, 452-458, (1993) 

• 1. Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and MvR, Universal fluctuations in a simple disordered system, Phys. Lett.A 160, 461-464, (1991) 

Other publications

• A Roth and MvR, Modeling Synapses. Chapter
  
• N Brunel and MvR, Lapicque’s 1907 paper: from frogs to integrate-and-fire, Biological Cybernetics (2007 and translation of Lapicque 1907
  
• MvR and R.G. Smith, Noise removal by nonlinear synapses, Computational Neuroscience: Trends in research 1998.J. Bower ed., 297-303 (1998)  (conference proceedings),
• MvR Measuring font legibility (unpublished manuscript)
  
• MvR, Mesoscopische verschijnselen in veelvoudige lichtverstrooiing, J. Dutch Phys. Soc. 18, 307-311 (1995). Prize winning article in contest to popularize physics  
• MvR, Mesoscopic phenomena in multiple light scattering, PhD thesis, 132 pp. (1995)  
• P.N. den Outer, MvR, Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen and A. Lagendijk, Locating objects with diffuse light in 'OSA proceedings on Advances in optical imaging and photon migration', R.R. Alfano ed. (1994)  
• MvR, Th.M. Nieuwenhuizen, E. Hofstetter and M. Schreiber, Band tails in a disordered system in 'Photonic band gaps and localization', C. M. Soukoulis ed., 509-513, Plenum Press (1993)  
• MvR, Anyons and Bosonization in 2+1 dimensions, MSc thesis (1991) 

More stuff:

Computer tips
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