David M. Senseman, Ph.D.
Associate Professor of Biology
Office: SCB 3.01.37
Phone: (210) 458-5485
David.Senseman@utsa.edu
Research Interests
We are interested in the basic rules that govern the parallel processing of visual, auditory and olfactory information within the vertebrate central nervous system. In order to examine this problem we are using voltage-sensitive dyes to provide a non-invasive means of recording changes in neuronal activity following the presentation of sensory stimuli. A specialized computer-based data acquisition system allows us to simultaneously monitor electrical activity in 464 contiguous anatomical brain regions with millisecond temporal resolution. Through a combination of video imaging and computer animation techniques, we are able to directly visualize the spatio-temporal spread of electrical information within the brain. Currently we are using this apparatus to investigate (1) the initial processing of odor information with the glomerular region of the olfactory bulb and (2) the processing of retino-hypothalamic tract input with the suprachiasmatic nucleus (SCN).
Recent Publications
Robbins KA, Senseman DM. Extracting wave structure from biological data with application to responses in turtle visual cortex. J Comput Neurosci. 2004 May-Jun;16(3):267-98.
Senseman DM, Robbins KA. High-speed VSD imaging of visually evoked cortical waves: decomposition into intra- and intercortical wave motions. J Neurophysiol. 2002 Mar;87(3):1499-514.
Senseman DM, Robbins KA. Modal behavior of cortical neural networks during visual processing. J Neurosci. 1999 May 15;19(10):RC3.
Senseman DM. Spatiotemporal structure of depolarization spread in cortical pyramidal cell populations evoked by diffuse retinal light flashes. Vis Neurosci. 1999 Jan-Feb;16(1):65-79.