Neurosciences Research Foundation, Inc.

Giulio Tononi

Ralph J Greenspan

Chiara Cirelli

Paul J Shaw

Gerald M Edelman

Olaf Sporns

The invention provides a method of identifying a compound that alters vigilance. The method consists of contacting an invertebrate with a candidate compound, evaluating a vigilance property in the contacted invertebrate, and determining if the candidate compound alters the vigilance property in the contacted invertebrate. A candidate compound that alters the vigilance property in the contacted invertebrate is identified as a compound that alters vigilance. The invention also provides a method of identifying a vigilance enhancing compound that modulates homeostatic regulation or a vigilance diminishing compound that modulates homeostatic regulation. The method consists of contacting an invertebrate with a compound that increases or decreases vigilance, and determining the effect of the compound on a homeostatic regulatory property of vigilance. A compound that alters the homeostatic regulatory property is characterized as being a vigilance enhancing compound or a vigilance diminishing compound that modulates homeostatic regulation.

Methods for identifying compounds that modulate vigilance states

Apparatus which segments visual scenes into discrete objects. The apparatus is able to perceptually group the elements corresponding to a coherent figure, and to segregate them from the background or from another figure. Reentrant signaling among rhythmically active neuronal groups is used to correlate responses along spatially extended contours. The efficacy of the connections is allowed to change on a fast time scale resulting in active reentrant connections which amplify the correlations among neuronal groups and provides the desired segmentation.

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San Diego, CA, United States of America

Giulio Tononi