Temporal coding in the visual cortex

TY - JOUR

T1 - Temporal coding in the visual cortex

T2 - new vistas on integration in the nervous system

AU - Engel, A K

AU - König, P

AU - Kreiter, A K

AU - Schillen, T B

AU - Singer, W

PY - 1992/6/1

Y1 - 1992/6/1

N2 - Although our knowledge of the cellular components of the cortex is accumulating rapidly, we are still largely ignorant about how distributed neuronal activity can be integrated to contribute to unified perception and behaviour. In the visual system, it is still unresolved how responses of feature-detecting neurons can be bound into representations of perceptual objects. Recent crosscorrelation studies show that visual cortical neurons synchronize their responses depending on how coherent features are in the visual field. These results support the hypothesis that temporal correlation of neuronal discharges may serve to bind distributed neuronal activity into unique representations. Furthermore, these studies indicate that neuronal responses with an oscillatory temporal structure may be particularly advantageous as carrier signals for such a temporal coding mechanism. Based on these recent findings, it is suggested here that binding of neuronal activity by a temporal code may provide a solution to the problem of integration in distributed neuronal networks.

AB - Although our knowledge of the cellular components of the cortex is accumulating rapidly, we are still largely ignorant about how distributed neuronal activity can be integrated to contribute to unified perception and behaviour. In the visual system, it is still unresolved how responses of feature-detecting neurons can be bound into representations of perceptual objects. Recent crosscorrelation studies show that visual cortical neurons synchronize their responses depending on how coherent features are in the visual field. These results support the hypothesis that temporal correlation of neuronal discharges may serve to bind distributed neuronal activity into unique representations. Furthermore, these studies indicate that neuronal responses with an oscillatory temporal structure may be particularly advantageous as carrier signals for such a temporal coding mechanism. Based on these recent findings, it is suggested here that binding of neuronal activity by a temporal code may provide a solution to the problem of integration in distributed neuronal networks.

KW - Animals

KW - Humans

KW - Neurons

KW - Visual Cortex

KW - Visual Fields

KW - Visual Perception

M3 - SCORING: Journal article

C2 - 1378666

VL - 15

SP - 218

EP - 226

JO - TRENDS NEUROSCI

JF - TRENDS NEUROSCI

SN - 0166-2236

IS - 6

ER -