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A topographic map of auditory space is a feature found in the superior colliculus (SC) of many species, including CBA/CaJ mice. In this genetic background, high-frequency monaural spectral cues and interaural level differences (ILDs) are used to compute spatial receptive fields (RFs) that form a topographic map along the azimuth. Unfortunately, C57BL/6 mice, a strain widely used for transgenic manipulation, display age-related hearing loss (AHL) because of an inbred mutation in the Cadherin 23 gene (Cdh23) that affects hair cell mechanotransduction. To overcome this problem, researchers have used young C57BL/6 mice in their studies, as they have been shown to have normal hearing thresholds. However, important details of the auditory response characteristics of the SC such as spectral responses and spatial localization, have not been characterized in young C57BL/6 mice. Here, we show that two- to four-month C57BL/6 mice lack neurons with frontal auditory RFs and therefore lack a topographic representation of auditory space in the SC. Analysis of the spectrotemporal RFs (STRFs) of the SC auditory neurons shows that C57BL/6 mouse SC neurons lack the ability to detect the high-frequency (>40 kHz) spectral cues that are needed to compute frontal RFs. We also show that crossing C57BL/6 mice with CBA/CaJ mice or introducing one copy of the wild-type Cdh23 to C57BL/6 mice rescues the high-frequency hearing deficit and improves the topographic map of auditory space. Taken together, these results demonstrate the importance of high-frequency hearing in computing a topographic map of auditory space.

Sensory information from different modalities is processed in parallel, and then integrated in associative brain areas to improve object identification and the interpretation of sensory experiences. The Superior Colliculus (SC) is a midbrain structure that plays a critical role in integrating visual, auditory, and somatosensory input to assess saliency and promote action. Although the response properties of the individual SC neurons to visuoauditory stimuli have been characterized, little is known about the spatial and temporal dynamics of the integration at the population level. Here we recorded the response properties of SC neurons to spatially restricted visual and auditory stimuli using large-scale electrophysiology. We then created a general, population-level model that explains the spatial, temporal, and intensity requirements of stimuli needed for sensory integration. We found that the mouse SC contains topographically organized visual and auditory neurons that exhibit nonlinear multisensory integration. We show that nonlinear integration depends on properties of auditory but not visual stimuli. We also find that a heuristically derived nonlinear modulation function reveals conditions required for sensory integration that are consistent with previously proposed models of sensory integration such as spatial matching and the principle of inverse effectiveness.

Galactic outflows of molecular gas are a common occurrence in galaxies andmay represent a mechanism by which galaxies self-regulate their growth,redistributing gas that could otherwise have formed stars. We previouslypresented the first survey of molecular outflows at z > 4 towards a sample ofmassive, dusty galaxies. Here we characterize the physical properties of themolecular outflows discovered in our survey. Using low-redshift outflows as atraining set, we find agreement at the factor-of-two level between severaloutflow rate estimates. We find molecular outflow rates 150-800Msun/yr andinfer mass loading factors just below unity. Among the high-redshift sources,the molecular mass loading factor shows no strong correlations with any othermeasured quantity. The outflow energetics are consistent with expectations formomentum-driven winds with star formation as the driving source, with no needfor energy-conserving phases. There is no evidence for AGN activity in oursample, and while we cannot rule out deeply-buried AGN, their presence is notrequired to explain the outflow energetics, in contrast to nearby obscuredgalaxies with fast outflows. The fraction of the outflowing gas that willescape into the circumgalactic medium (CGM), though highly uncertain, may be ashigh as 50%. This nevertheless constitutes only a small fraction of the totalcool CGM mass based on a comparison to z~2-3 quasar absorption line studies,but could represent >~10% of the CGM metal mass. Our survey offers the firststatistical characterization of molecular outflow properties in the very earlyuniverse.

Massive galaxy-scale outflows of gas are one of the most commonly-invokedmechanisms to regulate the growth and evolution of galaxies throughout theuniverse. While the gas in outflows spans a large range of temperatures anddensities, the cold molecular phase is of particular interest because molecularoutflows may be capable of suppressing star formation in galaxies by removingthe star-forming gas. We have conducted the first survey of molecular outflowsat z > 4, targeting 11 strongly-lensed dusty, star-forming galaxies (DSFGs)with high-resolution Atacama Large Millimeter Array (ALMA) observations of OH119um absorption as an outflow tracer. In this first paper, we give an overviewof the survey, focusing on the detection rate and structure of molecularoutflows. We find unambiguous evidence for outflows in 8/11 (73%) galaxies,more than tripling the number known at z > 4. This implies that molecular windsin z > 4 DSFGs must have both a near-unity occurrence rate and large openingangles to be detectable in absorption. Lensing reconstructions reveal that500pc-scale clumpy structures in the outflows are common. The individual clumpsare not directly resolved, but from optical depth arguments we expect thatfuture observations will require 50-200pc spatial resolution to do so. We donot detect high-velocity [CII] wings in any of the sources with clear OHoutflows, indicating that [CII] is not a reliable tracer of molecular outflows.Our results represent a first step toward characterizing molecular outflows atz > 4 at the population level, demonstrating that large-scale outflows areubiquitous among early massive, dusty galaxies.

ABSTRACT We present an extensive ALMA spectroscopic follow-up programme of the $z\, {=}\, 4.3$ structure SPT2349–56, one of the most actively star-forming protocluster cores known, to identify additional members using their [C ii] 158 μm and CO(4–3) lines. In addition to robustly detecting the 14 previously published galaxies in this structure, we identify a further 15 associated galaxies at $z\, {=}\, 4.3$, resolving 55$\, {\pm }\,$5 per cent of the 870 μm flux density at 0.5 arcsec resolution compared to 21 arcsec single-dish data. These galaxies are distributed into a central core containing 23 galaxies extending out to 300 kpc in diameter, and a northern extension, offset from the core by 400 kpc, containing three galaxies. We discovered three additional galaxies in a red Herschel-SPIRE source 1.5 Mpc from the main structure, suggesting the existence of many other sources at the same redshift as SPT2349–56 that are not yet detected in the limited coverage of our data. An analysis of the velocity distribution of the central galaxies indicates that this region may be virialized with a mass of (9$\pm 5)\, {\times }\, 10^{12}$  M⊙, while the two offset galaxy groups are about 30 and 60 per cent less massive and show significant velocity offsets from the central group. We calculate the [C ii] and far-infrared number counts, and find evidence for a break in the [C ii] luminosity function. We estimate the average SFR density within the region of SPT2349–56 containing single-dish emission (a proper diameter of 720 kpc), assuming spherical symmetry, to be roughly 4$\, {\times }\, 10^4$ M⊙ yr−1 Mpc−3; this may be an order of magnitude greater than the most extreme examples seen in simulations.

ABSTRACT We present Atacama Compact Array and Atacama Pathfinder Experiment observations of the [N ii] 205 μm fine-structure line in 40 sub-millimetre galaxies lying at redshifts z = 3–6, drawn from the 2500 deg2 South Pole Telescope survey. This represents the largest uniformly selected sample of high-redshift [N ii] 205 μm measurements to date. 29 sources also have [C ii] 158 μm line observations allowing a characterization of the distribution of the [C ii] to [N ii] luminosity ratio for the first time at high redshift. The sample exhibits a median L$_{{\rm{[C\,{\small II}]}}}$/L$_{{\rm{[N\,{\small II}]}}}$ ≈ 11.0 and interquartile range of 5.0 –24.7. These ratios are similar to those observed in local (Ultra)luminous infrared galaxies (LIRGs), possibly indicating similarities in their interstellar medium. At the extremes, we find individual sub-millimetre galaxies with L$_{{\rm{[C\,{\small II}]}}}$/L$_{{\rm{[N\,{\small II}]}}}$ low enough to suggest a smaller contribution from neutral gas than ionized gas to the [C ii] flux and high enough to suggest strongly photon or X-ray region dominated flux. These results highlight a large range in this line luminosity ratio for sub-millimetre galaxies, which may be caused by variations in gas density, the relative abundances of carbon and nitrogen, ionization parameter, metallicity, and a variation in the fractional abundance of ionized and neutral interstellar medium.

Sound localization plays a critical role in animal survival. Three cues can be used to compute sound direction: interaural timing differences (ITDs), interaural level differences (ILDs) and the direction-dependent spectral filtering by the head and pinnae (spectral cues). Little is known about how spectral cues contribute to the neural encoding of auditory space. Here we report on auditory space encoding in the mouse superior colliculus (SC). We show that the mouse SC contains neurons with spatially-restricted receptive fields (RFs) that form an azimuthal topographic map. We found that frontal RFs require spectral cues and lateral RFs require ILDs. The neurons with frontal RFs have frequency tunings that match the spectral structure of the specific head and pinna filter for sound coming from the front. These results demonstrate that patterned spectral cues in combination with ILDs give rise to the topographic map of azimuthal auditory space.

The efficiency of photocatalytic systems is strongly depending on the charge carrier transfer from the excited semiconductor to co-catalyst particles attached on its surface. In this study, we investigated the influence of photo-induced charge transfer in photoplatinized TiO2 P25 photocatalysts by diffuse reflectance FTIR spectroscopy of CO molecules adsorbed on the Pt co-catalyst under well-defined gas phase conditions. In contrast to aqueous conditions, where shifts of the CO stretching vibration of up to 50 cm−1 have been reported, the observed shifts under gas phase conditions are very small (

The efficiency of photocatalytic systems is strongly depending on the charge carrier transfer from the excited semiconductor to co-catalyst particles attached on its surface. In this study, we investigated the influence of photo-induced charge transfer in photoplatinized TiO2 P25 photocatalysts by diffuse reflectance FTIR spectroscopy of CO molecules adsorbed on the Pt co-catalyst under well-defined gas phase conditions. In contrast to aqueous conditions, where shifts of the CO stretching vibration of up to 50 cm−1 have been reported, the observed shifts under gas phase conditions are very small (

Galaxies grow inefficiently, with only a small percentage of the available gas converted into stars each free-fall time. Feedback processes, such as outflowing winds driven by radiation pressure, supernovae, or supermassive black hole accretion, can act to halt star formation if they heat or expel the gas supply. We report a molecular outflow launched from a dust-rich star-forming galaxy at redshift 5.3, 1 billion years after the Big Bang. The outflow reaches velocities up to 800 kilometers per second relative to the galaxy, is resolved into multiple clumps, and carries mass at a rate within a factor of 2 of the star formation rate. Our results show that molecular outflows can remove a large fraction of the gas available for star formation from galaxies at high redshift.

According to the current understanding of cosmic structure formation, the precursors of the most massive structures in the Universe began to form shortly after the Big Bang, in regions corresponding to the largest fluctuations in the cosmic density field. Observing these structures during their period of active growth and assembly-the first few hundred million years of the Universe-is challenging because it requires surveys that are sensitive enough to detect the distant galaxies that act as signposts for these structures and wide enough to capture the rarest objects. As a result, very few such objects have been detected so far. Here we report observations of a far-infrared-luminous object at redshift 6.900 (less than 800 million years after the Big Bang) that was discovered in a wide-field survey. High-resolution imaging shows it to be a pair of extremely massive star-forming galaxies. The larger is forming stars at a rate of 2,900 solar masses per year, contains 270 billion solar masses of gas and 2.5 billion solar masses of dust, and is more massive than any other known object at a redshift of more than 6. Its rapid star formation is probably triggered by its companion galaxy at a projected separation of 8 kiloparsecs. This merging companion hosts 35 billion solar masses of stars and has a star-formation rate of 540 solar masses per year, but has an order of magnitude less gas and dust than its neighbour and physical conditions akin to those observed in lower-metallicity galaxies in the nearby Universe. These objects suggest the presence of a dark-matter halo with a mass of more than 100 billion solar masses, making it among the rarest dark-matter haloes that should exist in the Universe at this epoch.

Technological and methodological innovations are equipping researchers with unprecedented capabilities for detecting and characterizing pathologic processes in the developing human brain. As a result, ambitions to achieve clinically useful tools to assist in the diagnosis and management of mental health and learning disorders are gaining momentum. To this end, it is critical to accrue large-scale multimodal datasets that capture a broad range of commonly encountered clinical psychopathology. The Child Mind Institute has launched the Healthy Brain Network (HBN), an ongoing initiative focused on creating and sharing a biobank of data from 10,000 New York area participants (ages 5-21). The HBN Biobank houses data about psychiatric, behavioral, cognitive, and lifestyle phenotypes, as well as multimodal brain imaging (resting and naturalistic viewing fMRI, diffusion MRI, morphometric MRI), electroencephalography, eye-tracking, voice and video recordings, genetics and actigraphy. Here, we present the rationale, design and implementation of HBN protocols. We describe the first data release (n=664) and the potential of the biobank to advance related areas (e.g., biophysical modeling, voice analysis).

We report the discovery and constrain the physical conditions of the interstellar medium of the highest-redshift millimeter-selected dusty star-forming galaxy to date, SPT-S J031132-5823.4 (hereafter SPT0311-58), at z = 6.900 ± 0.002. SPT0311-58 was discovered via its 1.4 mm thermal dust continuum emission in the South Pole Telescope (SPT)-SZ survey. The spectroscopic redshift was determined through an Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array 3 mm frequency scan that detected CO(6-5), CO(7-6), and [C I](2-1), and subsequently was confirmed by detections of CO(3-2) with the Australia Telescope Compact Array and [C II] with APEX. We constrain the properties of the ISM in SPT0311-58 with a radiative transfer analysis of the dust continuum photometry and the CO and [C I] line emission. This allows us to determine the gas content without ad hoc assumptions about gas mass scaling factors. SPT0311-58 is extremely massive, with an intrinsic gas mass of Mgas 3.3±1.9×1011 M. Its large mass and intense star formation is very rare for a source well into the epoch of reionization.

We present Chandra ACIS-S and ATCA radio continuum observations of thestrongly lensed dusty, star-forming galaxy SPT-S J034640-5204.9 (hereafterSPT0346-52) at $z$ = 5.656. This galaxy has also been observed with ALMA, HST,Spitzer, Herschel, APEX, and the VLT. Previous observations indicate that ifthe infrared (IR) emission is driven by star formation, then the inferredlensing-corrected star formation rate ($\sim$ 4500 $M_{\sun}$ yr$^{-1}$) andstar formation rate surface density $\Sigma_{\rm SFR}$ ($\sim$ 2000 $M_{\sun}{yr^{-1}} {kpc^{-2}}$) are both exceptionally high. It remained unclear fromthe previous data, however, whether a central active galactic nucleus (AGN)contributes appreciably to the IR luminosity. The {\it Chandra} upper limitshows that SPT0346-52 is consistent with being star-formation dominated in theX-ray, and any AGN contribution to the IR emission is negligible. The ATCAradio continuum upper limits are also consistent with the FIR-to-radiocorrelation for star-forming galaxies with no indication of an additional AGNcontribution. The observed prodigious intrinsic IR luminosity of (3.6 $\pm$0.3) $\times$ 10$^{13}$ $L_{\sun}$ originates almost solely from vigorous starformation activity. With an intrinsic source size of 0.61 $\pm$ 0.03 kpc,SPT0346-52 is confirmed to have one of the highest $\Sigma_{SFR}$ of any knowngalaxy. This high $\Sigma_{SFR}$, which approaches the Eddington limit for aradiation pressure supported starburst, may be explained by a combination ofvery high star formation efficiency and gas fraction.

Domoic acid is a neurotoxin produced by algae and is found in seafood during harmful algal blooms. As a glutamate agonist, domoic acid inappropriately stimulates excitatory activity in neurons. At high doses, this leads to seizures and brain lesions, but it is unclear how lower, asymptomatic exposures disrupt neuronal activity. Domoic acid has been detected in an increasing variety of species across a greater geographical range than ever before, making it critical to understand the potential health impacts of low-level exposure on vulnerable marine mammal and human populations. To determine whether prolonged domoic acid exposure altered neuronal activity in hippocampal networks, we used a custom-made 512 multi-electrode array with high spatial and temporal resolution to record extracellular potentials (spikes) in mouse organotypic brain slice cultures. We identified individual neurons based on spike waveform and location, and measured the activity and functional connectivity within the neuronal networks of brain slice cultures. Domoic acid exposure significantly altered neuronal spiking activity patterns, and increased functional connectivity within exposed cultures, in the absence of overt cellular or neuronal toxicity. While the overall spiking activity of neurons in domoic acid-exposed cultures was comparable to controls, exposed neurons spiked significantly more often in bursts. We also identified a subset of neurons that were electrophysiologically silenced in exposed cultures, and putatively identified those neurons as fast-spiking inhibitory neurons. These results provide evidence that domoic acid affects neuronal activity in the absence of cytotoxicity, and suggest that neurodevelopmental exposure to domoic acid may alter neurological function in the absence of clinical symptoms.

Understanding the function of modulatory interneuron networks is a major challenge, because such networks typically operate over long spatial scales and involve many neurons of different types. Here, we use an indirect electrical imaging method to reveal the function of a spatially extended, recurrent retinal circuit composed of two cell types. This recurrent circuit produces peripheral response suppression of early visual signals in the primate magnocellular visual pathway. We identify a type of polyaxonal amacrine cell physiologically via its distinctive electrical signature, revealed by electrical coupling with ON parasol retinal ganglion cells recorded using a large-scale multi-electrode array. Coupling causes the amacrine cells to fire spikes that propagate radially over long distances, producing GABA-ergic inhibition of other ON parasol cells recorded near the amacrine cell axonal projections. We propose and test a model for the function of this amacrine cell type, in which the extra-classical receptive field of ON parasol cells is formed by reciprocal inhibition from other ON parasol cells in the periphery, via the electrically coupled amacrine cell network.

The South Pole Telescope has discovered 100 gravitationally lensed, high-redshift, dusty, star-forming galaxies (DSFGs). We present 0 5 resolution 870μm Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array imaging of a sample of 47 DSFGs spanning z = 1.9 5.7 - , and construct gravitational lens models of these sources. Our visibility-based lens modeling incorporates several sources of residual interferometric calibration uncertainty, allowing us to properly account for noise in the observations. At least 70% of the sources are strongly lensed by foreground galaxies (m870 m m > 2), with a median magnification of m870 m m = 6.3, extending to m870 m m > 30. We compare the intrinsic size distribution of the strongly lensed sources to a similar number of unlensed DSFGs and find no significant differences in spite of a bias between the magnification and intrinsic source size. This may indicate that the true size distribution of DSFGs is relatively narrow. We use the source sizes to constrain the wavelength at which the dust optical depth is unity and find this wavelength to be correlated with the dust temperature. This correlation leads to discrepancies in dust mass estimates of a factor of two compared to estimates using a single value for this wavelength. We investigate the relationship between the [C II] line and the far-infrared luminosity and find that the same correlation between the [C II]/LFIR ratio and SFIR found for low-redshift star-forming galaxies applies to high-redshift galaxies and extends at least two orders of magnitude higher in SFIR. This lends further credence to the claim that the compactness of the IR-emitting region is the controlling parameter in establishing the [C II] deficit.

We use the Atacama Large Millimeter/submillimeter Array (ALMA) in Cycle 1 to determine spectroscopic redshifts of high-redshift dusty star-forming galaxies (DSFGs) selected by their 1.4 mm continuum emission in the South Pole Telescope (SPT) survey. We present ALMA 3 mm spectral scans between 84 and 114 GHz for 15 galaxies and targeted ALMA 1 mm observations for an additional eight sources. Our observations yield 30 new line detections from CO, [C i], [N ii], H2O and NH3. We further present Atacama Pathfinder Experiment [C ii] and CO mid-J observations for seven sources for which only a single line was detected in spectral-scan data from ALMA Cycle 0 or Cycle 1. We combine the new observations with previously published and new millimeter/submillimeter line and photometric data of the SPT-selected DSFGs to study their redshift distribution. The combined data yield 39 spectroscopic redshifts from molecular lines, a success rate of >85%. Our sample represents the largest data set of its kind today and has the highest spectroscopic completeness among all redshift surveys of high-z DSFGs. The median of the redshift distribution is z = 3.9 ±0.4, and the highest-redshift source in our sample is at z = 5.8. We discuss how the selection of our sources affects the redshift distribution, focusing on source brightness, selection wavelength, and strong gravitational lensing. We correct for the effect of gravitational lensing and find the redshift distribution for 1.4 mm selected sources with a median redshift of z = 3.1 ±0.3. Comparing to redshift distributions selected at shorter wavelengths from the literature, we show that selection wavelength affects the shape of the redshift distribution.

We present ALMA detections of the [NII] 205$\mu$m and CO(12-11) emissionlines, and the tentative detection of [CI] $^3$P$_1$ - $^3$P$_0$ for thestrongly lensed ($\mu$=5.7$\pm$0.5) dusty, star-forming galaxy SPT-SJ213242-5802.9 (hereafter SPT2132-58) at z=4.77. The [NII] and CO(12-11) linesare detected at 11.5 and 8.5 $\sigma$ level, respectively, by our band-6observations. The [CI] line is detected at 3.2 $\sigma$ after a re-analysis ofexisting band-3 data. The [CI] luminosity implies a gas mass of3.8$\pm$1.2$\times$10$^{10}$ M$_\odot$, and consequently a very short depletiontimescale of 34$\pm$13 Myr and a CO-luminosity-to-gas-mass conversion factor$\alpha_{\rm CO}$ of 1.0$\pm$0.3 M$_\odot$ (K km s$^{-1}$ pc$^{2}$)$^{-1}$.SPT2132-58 is an extreme starburst with an intrinsic star formation rate of1100$\pm$200 M$_\odot$/yr. We find a [CII]/[NII] ratio of 26$\pm$7, which isthe highest reported at z$>$4. This suggests that SPT2132-58 hosts an evolvedinterstellar medium (0.5 Z$_\odot$

We present ALMA detections of the [NII] 205$\mu$m and CO(12-11) emissionlines, and the tentative detection of [CI] $^3$P$_1$ - $^3$P$_0$ for thestrongly lensed ($\mu$=5.7$\pm$0.5) dusty, star-forming galaxy SPT-SJ213242-5802.9 (hereafter SPT2132-58) at z=4.77. The [NII] and CO(12-11) linesare detected at 11.5 and 8.5 $\sigma$ level, respectively, by our band-6observations. The [CI] line is detected at 3.2 $\sigma$ after a re-analysis ofexisting band-3 data. The [CI] luminosity implies a gas mass of3.8$\pm$1.2$\times$10$^{10}$ M$_\odot$, and consequently a very short depletiontimescale of 34$\pm$13 Myr and a CO-luminosity-to-gas-mass conversion factor$\alpha_{\rm CO}$ of 1.0$\pm$0.3 M$_\odot$ (K km s$^{-1}$ pc$^{2}$)$^{-1}$.SPT2132-58 is an extreme starburst with an intrinsic star formation rate of1100$\pm$200 M$_\odot$/yr. We find a [CII]/[NII] ratio of 26$\pm$7, which isthe highest reported at z$>$4. This suggests that SPT2132-58 hosts an evolvedinterstellar medium (0.5 Z$_\odot$

The function of a neural circuit is shaped by the computations performed by its interneurons, which in many cases are not easily accessible to experimental investigation. Here, we elucidate the transformation of visual signals flowing from the input to the output of the primate retina, using a combination of large-scale multi-electrode recordings from an identified ganglion cell type, visual stimulation targeted at individual cone photoreceptors, and a hierarchical computational model. The results reveal nonlinear subunits in the circuity of OFF midget ganglion cells, which subserve high-resolution vision. The model explains light responses to a variety of stimuli more accurately than a linear model, including stimuli targeted to cones within and across subunits. The recovered model components are consistent with known anatomical organization of midget bipolar interneurons. These results reveal the spatial structure of linear and nonlinear encoding, at the resolution of single cells and at the scale of complete circuits.

This study combines for the first time two major approaches to understanding the function and structure of neural circuits: large-scale multielectrode recordings, and confocal imaging of labeled neurons. To achieve this end, we develop a novel approach to the central problem of anatomically identifying recorded cells, based on the electrical image: the spatiotemporal pattern of voltage deflections induced by spikes on a large-scale, high-density multielectrode array. Recordings were performed from identified ganglion cell types in the macaque retina. Anatomical images of cells in the same preparation were obtained using virally transfected fluorescent labeling or by immunolabeling after fixation. The electrical image was then used to locate recorded cell somas, axon initial segments, and axon trajectories, and these signatures were used to identify recorded cells. Comparison of anatomical and physiological measurements permitted visualization and physiological characterization of numerically dominant ganglion cell types with high efficiency in a single preparation.

Amacrine cells are the most diverse and least understood cell class in the retina. Polyaxonal amacrine cells (PACs) are a unique subset identified by multiple long axonal processes. To explore their functional properties, populations of PACs were identified by their distinctive radially propagating spikes in large-scale high-density multielectrode recordings of isolated macaque retina. One group of PACs exhibited stereotyped functional properties and receptive field mosaic organization similar to that of parasol ganglion cells. These PACs had receptive fields coincident with their dendritic fields, but much larger axonal fields, and slow radial spike propagation. They also exhibited ON-OFF light responses, transient response kinetics, sparse and coordinated firing during image transitions, receptive fields with antagonistic surrounds and fine spatial structure, nonlinear spatial summation, and strong homotypic neighbor electrical coupling. These findings reveal the functional organization and collective visual signaling by a distinctive, high-density amacrine cell population.

The propagation of visual signals from individual cone photoreceptors through parallel neural circuits was examined in the primate retina. Targeted stimulation of individual cones was combined with simultaneous recording from multiple retinal ganglion cells of identified types. The visual signal initiated by an individual cone produced strong responses with different kinetics in three of the four numerically dominant ganglion cell types. The magnitude and kinetics of light responses in each ganglion cell varied nonlinearly with stimulus strength but in a manner that was independent of the cone of origin after accounting for the overall input strength of each cone. Based on this property of independence, the receptive field profile of an individual ganglion cell could be well estimated from responses to stimulation of each cone individually. Together, these findings provide a quantitative account of how elementary visual inputs form the ganglion cell receptive field.

Using an impact-parameter tag to select an enriched sample of Z0bb» events, we have measured the difference between the average charged multiplicity of bb» and all hadronic Z0 decays to be 2.11.8(stat) 0.6(syst) tracks per event. The resulting total (nonleading) charged multiplicity for Z0 bb» events is 23.1(12.0)1.8 0.6 tracks. A comparison of this nonleading multiplicity to hadronic multiplicity data in the range of 10 to 60 GeV supports the hypothesis of flavor-independent hadronic fragmentation, and yields a measurement of the average energy fraction of bottom hadrons in Z0 decays of xEb=0.620.100.04. © 1992 The American Physical Society.

We have measured the fraction of bb» events in hadronic Z0 decays, Rbb», using the vertex detector system of the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider. We tag bb» events by requiring the coincidence of three or more tracks with significant impact parameters. This tag is 50% efficient and results in a sample of 85% purity. We find Rbb»=0.251+0.049+0.030, in good agreement with other measurements and the standard model prediction. © 1991 The American Physical Society.

We have searched for the annihilation of e+e- into the exclusive channels e and at s =29 GeV, using 226 and 133 pb-1, respectively, of data taken with the Mark II detector at the SLAC storage ring PEP. The resulting candidate sample is compatible with the expected background from pair production. Our analysis yields 95%-C.L. cross-section limits of e/

A precise measurement of the ratio R of the total cross section e+e-hadrons to the pointlike cross section e+e-+- at a center-of-mass energy of 29.0 GeV is presented. The data were taken with the upgraded Mark II detector at the SLAC storage ring PEP. The result is R=3.920.050.09. The luminosity has been determined with three independent luminosity monitors measuring Bhabha scattering at different angular intervals. Recent calculations of higher-order QED radiative corrections are used to estimate the systematic error due to missing higher-order radiative corrections in the Monte Carlo event generators. © 1991 The American Physical Society.

A search for pair production of stable charged particles from Z decay has been performed with the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider. Particle masses are determined from momentum, ionization energy loss, and time-of-flight measurements. A limit excluding pair production of stable fourth-generation charged leptons and stable mirror fermions with masses between the muon mass and 36.3 GeV/c2 is set at the 95% confidence level. Pair production of stable supersymmetric scalar leptons with masses between the muon mass and 32.6 GeV/c2 is also excluded. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

We have searched for supersymmetric particles in 528 Z decays with the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider. We place 95%-confidence-level lower mass limits on degenerate squarks, nondegenerate up-type squarks, nondegenerate down-type squarks, charginos, pair-produced unstable neutralinos, and neutralinos from associated production. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

Using the Mark II detector at the SLAC Linear Collider, we search for decays of the Z boson to a pair of nonminimal Higgs bosons (ZHs0Hp0), where one of them is relatively light (10 GeV). We find no evidence for these decays and we obtain limits on the ZHs0Hp0 coupling as a function of the Higgs-boson masses. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

We describe a search for the decay of the Z boson into pairs of doubly charged Higgs bosons with the Mark II detector operating at the SLAC Linear Collider. Each Higgs boson is assumed to decay into a same-sign leptonic pair. No event candidates are found in a sample of 528 Z decays. At the 95% confidence level, this result excludes the region of leptonic coupling gll3×10-7 and Higgs-boson mass 6.5MH 36.5 GeV/c2 for isotriplet (left-handed) Higgs bosons. Isosinglet (right-handed) Higgs bosons are excluded in the same gll interval and in the mass interval 7.3 MH 34.3 GeV/c2. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

Using the sample of neutral vector bosons (Z's) produced at the SLAC Linear Collider and detected with the Mark II detector, we search for the decay of the Z to a pair of particles, one of which decays to two charged particles. The observed number of Z decays with this signature excludes, at a confidence level greater than 95%, the decay of the Z to a pair of fourth-generation Dirac neutrinos with mass between 2.5 and 22 GeV, a decay length less than about 1 cm, and coupling to any of the first three generations of charged leptons. This is the first time the existence of such a lepton coupling to the ± has been excluded by a direct search. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

Data taken by the Mark II detector at the PEP storage ring was used to measure the rate of dilepton production in multihadronic events produced by e+e- annihilation at √s=29 GeV. We determine the probability that a hadron initially containing a b (b̄) quark decays to a positive (negative) lepton to be 0.17-0.08+0.15, with 90% confidence level limits of 0.06 and 0.38. © 1990.

We have measured inclusive distributions for charged particles in hadronic decays of the Z boson. The variables chosen for study were charged-particle multiplicity, scaled momentum, and momenta transverse to the sphericity axes. The distributions have been corrected for detector effects and are compared with data from ee- annihilation at lower energies and with the predictions of several QCD-based models. The data are in reasonable agreement with expectations. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

Using isolated leptons reconstructed in the Mark II detector to tag bb events, we measure the fraction of bb events in hadronic Z0 decays to be 0.23-0.09+0.11, in good agreement with the standard-model prediction of 0.22. We find (Zbb)=0.43-0.17+0.21 GeV. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

We search for events in the Mark II detector at SLAC Linear Collider with the topology of a Z boson decaying into a pair of long-lived massive particles. No events that are consistent with the search hypothesis are found. Interpreting the long-lived particle as a sequential Dirac neutrino 4 of the fourth generation, we exclude at the 95% confidence level a significant range of mixing-matrix elements of 4 to other-generation neutrinos for a 4 mass from 10 to 43 GeV/c2. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

Data taken by the Mark II detector at the SLAC e+e- storage ring PEP was used to search for exclusive decays of D and B mesons into two charged leptons plus a charged pion or kaon. All possible charge and lepton combinations consistent with charge conservation were considered and no evidence for any signals was found. We obtain upper limits for the various branching ratios ranging from 2.5×10-3 to 9.2×10-3, at a 90% confidence level. Some of these limits can be used to constrain leptoquark masses in various models. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

We measured the differential jet-multiplicity distribution in e+e- annihilation with the Mark II detector. This distribution is compared with the second-order QCD prediction and s is determined to be 0.1230.0090.005 at ssSMZ (at the SLAC Linear Collider) and 0.1490.0020.007 at ss=29 GeV (at the SLAC storage ring PEP). The running of s between these two center-of-mass energies is consistent with the QCD prediction. © 1990 The American Physical Society.

We have observed hadronic final states produced in the decays of Z bosons. In order to study the parton structure of these events, we compare the distributions in sphericity, thurst, aplanarity, and number of jets to the predictions of several QCD-based models and to data from lower energies. The data and models agree within the present statistical precision. © 1989 The American Physical Society.

We use data from the Mark II experiment at PEP to search for the process B→h0X for mh0 between 50 and 210 MeV/c2. No evidence for the Higgs boson is seen in this mass range. The limit obtained rules out the standard Higgs boson for masses between 70 and 210 MeV/c2 and significantly constrains extensions of the Higgs sector. © 1989.