AUTHOR=Rougier Nicolas P. TITLE=A Density-Driven Method for the Placement of Biological Cells Over Two-Dimensional Manifolds JOURNAL=Frontiers in Neuroinformatics VOLUME=12 YEAR=2018 URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/neuroinformatics/articles/10.3389/fninf.2018.00012 DOI=10.3389/fninf.2018.00012 ISSN=1662-5196 ABSTRACT=

We introduce a graphical method originating from the computer graphics domain that is used for the arbitrary placement of cells over a two-dimensional manifold. Using a bitmap image whose luminance provides cell density, this method guarantees a discrete distribution of the positions of the cells respecting the local density. This method scales to any number of cells, allows one to specify arbitrary enclosing shapes and provides a scalable and versatile alternative to the more classical assumption of a uniform spatial distribution. The method is illustrated on a discrete homogeneous neural field, on the distribution of cones and rods in the retina and on the neural density of a flattened piece of cortex.