![[OSU Physics logo]](/Images/osu-physics.gif)
Integrators--circuits that integrate a time varying input signal and keep this information in "memory"--are commonly used in engineering applications such as signal detection and feedback control. In biological nervous systems, there is increasing evidence for neuronal circuits that are integrators, processing sensory information and holding information "on line", a form of short term memory. This talk will provide an overview of neural integrators and discuss recent biophysical experiments we have done to understand how they work. Our results provide support for a mechanism based on theoretical neural network models, known as continuous attractors, in which integration and memory are produced by tuned synaptic feedback loops.