Neural coding and contextual influences in the whisker system

TY - JOUR

T1 - Neural coding and contextual influences in the whisker system

AU - Petersen, Rasmus S

AU - Panzeri, Stefano

AU - Maravall, Miguel

PY - 2009/6

Y1 - 2009/6

N2 - A fundamental problem in neuroscience, to which Prof. Segundo has made seminal contributions, is to understand how action potentials represent events in the external world. The aim of this paper is to review the issue of neural coding in the context of the rodent whiskers, an increasingly popular model system. Key issues we consider are: the role of spike timing; mechanisms of spike timing; decoding and context-dependence. Significant insight has come from the development of rigorous, information theoretic frameworks for tackling these questions, in conjunction with suitably designed experiments. We review both the theory and experimental studies. In contrast to the classical view that neurons are noisy and unreliable, it is becoming clear that many neurons in the subcortical whisker pathway are remarkably reliable and, by virtue of spike timing with millisecond-precision, have high bandwidth for conveying sensory information. In this way, even small (approximately 200 neuron) subcortical modules are able to support the sensory processing underlying sophisticated whisker-dependent behaviours. Future work on neural coding in cortex will need to consider new findings that responses are highly dependent on context, including behavioural and internal states.

AB - A fundamental problem in neuroscience, to which Prof. Segundo has made seminal contributions, is to understand how action potentials represent events in the external world. The aim of this paper is to review the issue of neural coding in the context of the rodent whiskers, an increasingly popular model system. Key issues we consider are: the role of spike timing; mechanisms of spike timing; decoding and context-dependence. Significant insight has come from the development of rigorous, information theoretic frameworks for tackling these questions, in conjunction with suitably designed experiments. We review both the theory and experimental studies. In contrast to the classical view that neurons are noisy and unreliable, it is becoming clear that many neurons in the subcortical whisker pathway are remarkably reliable and, by virtue of spike timing with millisecond-precision, have high bandwidth for conveying sensory information. In this way, even small (approximately 200 neuron) subcortical modules are able to support the sensory processing underlying sophisticated whisker-dependent behaviours. Future work on neural coding in cortex will need to consider new findings that responses are highly dependent on context, including behavioural and internal states.

KW - Action Potentials/physiology

KW - Afferent Pathways/physiology

KW - Animals

KW - Behavior, Animal/physiology

KW - Brain Mapping

KW - Models, Neurological

KW - Neurons/physiology

KW - Time Factors

KW - Vibrissae/anatomy & histology

U2 - 10.1007/s00422-008-0290-5

DO - 10.1007/s00422-008-0290-5

M3 - SCORING: Review article

C2 - 19189120

VL - 100

SP - 427

EP - 446

JO - BIOL CYBERN

JF - BIOL CYBERN

SN - 0340-1200

IS - 6

ER -