| Biology Department 0357 | ||
| Citizenship: | Canada | University of California, San Diego |
| Status in US: | Resident alien, | La Jolla, CA 92093-0357 |
| US citizenship applied for. | ||
| Marital status: | Married with two daughters. | Telephone: Office (619)-534-5546 |
| Fax (619)-534-0301 | ||
| Home (619)-587-9359 | ||
| Email: prowat@biomail.ucsd.edu |
Education
| Cambridge University | B.A. | 1963 | Mathematics |
| Cambridge University | Tripos with distinction | 1964 | Mathematics |
| Cambridge University | M.A. | 1966 | Mathematics |
| Cambridge University | Graduate Study | 1964-65 | Finite Automata |
| Manchester University | Graduate study | 1965-67 | Recursion Theory |
| Simon Fraser University | Graduate study | 1968-69 | Recursion Theory |
| University of British Columbia | M.Sc. | 1973 | Artificial Intelligence |
| University of British Columbia | Ph.D. | 1979 | Artificial Intelligence |
| University of California, San Diego | PostDoc | 1988-91 | Neurobiology |
Honors
| 1980-82 | B.C.Science Council, Industrial Postdoctoral Fellowship | Vancouver, British Columbia |
| 1967-68 | Fulbright-Hayes Senior Travel Grant | Massachusetts Institute of Technology |
| 1965-67 | Research Scholarship Science Research Council | Manchester University |
| 1964-65 | Graduate Scholarship | Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University |
| 1964 | College Prize | Sidney Sussex College, Cambridge University |
Academic Positions
| 1991-present | Biology Department, UCSD | Assistant Research Biologist |
| 1988-1991 | Biology Department, UCSD | NIH Postdoctoral Trainee |
| 1986-1988 | Computer Science Department, Western Washington University, Bellingham, WA | Visiting Assistant Professor |
| 1985-1986 | Computing Science Department, Simon Fraser University, Burnaby, BC, Canada | Assistant Professor |
| 1983-1986 | Coast Mountain Intelligence Ltd. Vancouver, BC, Canada | President |
| 1983 | B.C.Forest Service, Vancouver, BC, Canada | Researcher |
| 1980-1982 | S-Matrix Enterprises Ltd Vancouver, BC, Canada | Consultant |
| 1980-1981 | University of British Columbia | Sessional Lecturer |
| 1969-1979 | Computer Science Department University of British Columbia Vancouver, BC, Canada | Research Assistant, Teaching Assistant, Summer Research Scholar |
| 1967-1968 | Mathematics Department, Massachussetts Institute of Technology | Instructor |
| 1965-1967 | Mathematics Department, Manchester University | Postgraduate Researcher |
| 1964-1965 | Mathematics Department, Cambridge University | Postgraduate Researcher |
Research Interests
My goal is to understand how the brain works. This is approached by studying the principles and mechanisms of motor pattern generation in sensori-motor systems. I investigate the function of small or otherwise well-defined neural systems such as the stomatogastric nervous system of the lobster by mathematical and computational techniques. My most immediate interest is the question "Is deterministic chaos in neural systems an epiphenomenon or an essential component of their dynamics?". A longer-term goal is to provide a firm mathematical basis for describing the relation between a simple but abstract neural model, which may be successful at describing overall behavior and can be analyzed mathematically, and a more complex model which may accurately describe biological details of a system and may make correct predictions, but is analytically intractable.
Publications
Rowat, P.F., Elson, R.C., and Selverston, A.I. (1997). The role of inhibition and excitation in central pattern generators: deterministic chaos is reduced by inhibition and enhanced by excitation. Proceedings Western Nerve Net '97, Bamfield Marine Station, Bamfield, British Columbia.
Guckenheimer, J., and Rowat, P.F. (1997) Dynamical systems analyses of real neuronal networks. In: Neurons, Networks and Motor Behavior, Eds. P.S.G.Stein, S.Grillner, A.I.Selverston, and D.G.Stuart. MIT Press. In press.
Rowat, P.F., and Selverston, A.I. (1997) Synchronous bursting can arise from mutual excitation, even when individual cells are not endogenous oscillators. J. Comput. Neurosci. 4 (2), 129-140.
Rowat, P.F., and Selverston, A.I. (1997) Oscillatory mechanisms in pairs of neurons connected with fast inhibitory synapses. J. Comput. Neurosci. 4 (2), 103-128.
Abarbanel, H.D.I, Huerta, R., Rabinovich, M.I., Rulkov, N.F., Rowat, P.F., and Selverston, A.I. (1996) Synchronized action of synaptically coupled chaotic model neurons. Neural Computation 8(8), 1567-1602.
Eisenhart, F.J. and Rowat, P.F. (1994). Phase Modulation in Oscillatory Model Neurons. In: World Congress on Neural Networks. Vol. II. Lawrence Erlbaum, New Jersey, pp. 750-755.
Doya, K., Selverston, A.I., and Rowat, P.F. (1994). A Hodgkin-Huxley type neuron model that learns slow non-spike oscillation. In: Neural Information Processing Systems 6. Cowan, J.D., G. Tesauro and J. Alspector, eds. Morgan Kaufmann Publishers, Inc., pp. 566-573.
Rowat, P.F. and Selverston, A.I. (1994). Dynamics of a two-cell neural network: modes of oscillation. Proceedings of the Joint Symposium on Neural Computation. Institute for Neural Computation, University of California, San Diego, pp. 60-72.
Rowat, P.F. and Selverston, A.I. (1993). Phase setting in a model of the gastric mill CPG in the lobster. Neurosci. Abstr. 19:995.
Rowat, P.F., and Selverston, A.I. (1993) Setting phases in a central pattern generator: using phase portraits to understand reciprocal inhibition. In: The Self-Organizing Brain: from Growth Cones to Functional Networks. 18th International Summer School of Brain Research, Netherlands Institute for Brain Research, Amsterdam.
Rowat, P.F., and Selverston, A.I. (1993) Modelling the gastric mill central pattern generator of the lobster with a relaxation-oscillator network. J. Neurophysiol. 70, 1030--1053.
Selverston, A.I., Rowat, P.F., and Boyle, E.T. (1993) Strategies for the incorporation of biological data into models of rhythmic movements. In: R.D.Beer, R.Ritzmann, and T.McKenna, editors. Biological neural networks in invertebrate neuroethology and robots. Academic Press.
Selverston, A.I. and Rowat., P.F. (1992) Modeling phase synchronization in a biologically-based network. Vol. III, Proceedings of the International Joint Conference on Neural Networks. pp. 396-401.
Rowat, P.F. and Selverston, A.I. (1992) Properties of a relaxation-oscillator-based model of lobster gastric mill CPG. Neuroscience Abstracts 18, 1054.
Rowat, P.F., and Selverston, A.I. (1991) Learning algorithms for oscillatory networks with gap junctions and membrane currents. Network 2, 17-41.
Rowat, P.F. and A.J. Mandell, A.J. (1990). Use of modeling to analyze emergent oscillations of the gastric mill CPG in the lobster stomatogastric ganglion. Neurosci. Abstr. 16:1131.
Rowat, P.F. (1982). On the development of an intelligent computer assistant for avalanche hazard forecasting. Final report prepared for National Research Council Canada. 20 pp. (1982).
Rosenberg, R.S. and Rowat, P.F. (1981). Solving spatial problems in a simulated robot environment. Proceedings of the Seventh Internationl Joint Conference on Artificial Intelligence. University of B.C. pp. 758-765.
Rowat, P.F. and Rosenberg, R.S. (1980). Spatial experience and spatial problem-solving in a simulated robot-environment system. Proceedings Canadian Society for Computational Studies of Intelligence / Societe Canadienne pour Etudes d'Intelligence par Ordinateur, Third National Conference, Victoria, B.C., 204-211.
Rowat, P.F. (1976). Of crayfish and production systems. Proceedings of the Canadian Society for Computational Studies of Intelligence/Societe Canadienne pour Etudes d'Intelligence par Ordinateur, First National Conference. Victoria, B.C. pp. 125-134.
Rowat, P.F. (1972) Descriptions and plans in an interactive robot simulation system. International Journal Man-Machine Studies 4, 459-488.
Rowat, P.F. and Conway, J.H. (1971) A result on Moore's theory of experiments. In: J.H.Conway. Regular Algebra and Finite Machines London: Chapman Hall.
Recent professional activities:
| Principal workshop organizer | "Nonlinear Dynamics of Networks of Neurons" | Workshop funded by the California Coordinating Committee for Nonlinear Studies & UCSD, held at San Diego, 1995. |
| Organizer and participant | "Computational Approaches to Understanding Brain Function" | Panel at the Winter Conference on Brain Research, 1994. |
| Seminar speaker | "First Steps Toward a Theory of Central Pattern Generators" | Institute for Neural Computation, UCSD 1992. |
Referee for:
Journal of Computational Neuroscience,
Journal of Neurophysiology,
Neural Computation, and
Neuro-Reports.
Recent grant support:
| Organization | Grant title | PI | Period |
| NIMH | "Elucidating Central Pattern Generators" | G.W.Cottrell | 1992-95 |
| ONR | "Computational Models of Information Processing in the Lobster Stomatogastric System" | A.I.Selverston | 1988-91 |
| ONR | "A Theoretical Investigation of the Principles of Operation of a Small Motor Pattern Generator" | A.I.Selverston | 1992-95 |
| NSF | "Principles of Operation of Central Pattern Generators" | P.F.Rowat | 1992-95 |
| Okun Foundation | "Research in Theoretical Neurobiology" | P.F.Rowat | 1995-97 |