Panel Summary: Plasticity and Reconfigurability in Sensory Systems

Natural neural network are highly plastic in structure and function and may adapt to long lasting environmental changes. Plasticity and adaptation are not confined to lower level of processing, or to lower vertebrates, but also at the higher levels of visual processing in higher vertebrates are highly dynamic and perform considerable spatial integration. There are numerous influences that play a role in the functional architecture of the retina and the, cortex, the dynamics of the outside environment, the context within which a feature is presented, the history of previous visual stimulation and attention or expectation. The brief report on the visual system is integrated by the report of Giorgio Grisanti proving that the auditory system undergoes reconfiguration of processing area after cochlear implants. The contribution of Vito Roberto outlines, I should say to my surprise the remarkable amount of recent concepts acquired by neurophysiology, that have already been absorbed by artificial intelligence studies.

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