Employing large language models safely and effectively as a practicing neurosurgeon.

Background: Large Language Models (LLMs) have demonstrated significant capabilities to date in working with a neurosurgical knowledge-base and have the potential to enhance neurosurgical practice and education. However, their role in the clinical workspace is still being actively explored. As many neurosurgeons seek to incorporate this technology into their local practice environments, we explore pertinent questions about how to deploy these systems in a safe and efficacious manner.

Divergent visual ecology of Drosophila species drives object-tracking strategies matched to landscape sparsity.

Maintaining stable gaze while tracking moving objects is commonplace across animal taxa, yet how diverse ecological needs impact these processes is poorly understood. During flight, the fruit-eating fly Drosophila melanogaster maintains course by making smooth steering adjustments to fixate the image of the distant visual background on the retina, while executing body saccades to investigate nearby objects such as food sources. Cactophilic Drosophila mojavensis live where there is no canopy; rather, the flora forming visual "background" and "objects" are one and the same.

Dehydrated track a water plume in tethered flight.

Perception of sensory stimuli can be modulated by changes in internal state to drive contextually appropriate behavior. For example, dehydration is a threat to terrestrial animals, especially to due to their large surface area to volume ratio, particularly under the energy demands of flight. While hydrated avoid water cues, while walking, dehydration leads to water-seeking behavior.

Internal State: Dynamic, Interconnected Communication Loops Distributed Across Body, Brain, and Time.

Internal state profoundly alters perception and behavior. For example, a starved fly may approach and consume foods that it would otherwise find undesirable. A socially engaged newt may remain engaged in the presence of a predator, whereas a solitary newt would otherwise attempt to escape.