A model of the neural mechanisms responsible for pattern recognition and stimulus specific habituation in toads

A neural model of the mechanisms possibly responsible for stimulus-specific habituation in toads is proposed. The model follows the hypothesis that preypredator recognition is performed by command units as a result of retina-tectum-pretectum interaction. The model allow us to study the possible coding that the nervous system of toads uses for different prey stimuli, the neural mechanisms of habituation and dishabituation, and the dynamic changes that the command units may have during these processes. The model proposes specific hypothesis and experiments to clarify the nature of these processes and to test the validity of the command unit hypothesis.Research supported in part by CONACYT under grant PCCBBNA 021005Research supported in part by the NIH under grant NS 14971-05 from National Institute of Neurological and Communicative Disorders and Stroke