378 research outputs found
Neural coding of naturalistic motion stimuli
We study a wide field motion sensitive neuron in the visual system of the
blowfly {\em Calliphora vicina}. By rotating the fly on a stepper motor outside
in a wooded area, and along an angular motion trajectory representative of
natural flight, we stimulate the fly's visual system with input that approaches
the natural situation. The neural response is analyzed in the framework of
information theory, using methods that are free from assumptions. We
demonstrate that information about the motion trajectory increases as the light
level increases over a natural range. This indicates that the fly's brain
utilizes the increase in photon flux to extract more information from the
photoreceptor array, suggesting that imprecision in neural signals is dominated
by photon shot noise in the physical input, rather than by noise generated
within the nervous system itself.Comment: 15 pages, 4 figure
Optimal local estimates of visual motion in a natural environment
Many organisms, from flies to humans, use visual signals to estimate their
motion through the world. To explore the motion estimation problem, we have
constructed a camera/gyroscope system that allows us to sample, at high
temporal resolution, the joint distribution of input images and rotational
motions during a long walk in the woods. From these data we construct the
optimal estimator of velocity based on spatial and temporal derivatives of
image intensity in small patches of the visual world. Over the bulk of the
naturally occurring dynamic range, the optimal estimator exhibits the same
systematic errors seen in neural and behavioral responses, including the
confounding of velocity and contrast. These results suggest that apparent
errors of sensory processing may reflect an optimal response to the physical
signals in the environment
Universal Statistical Behavior of Neural Spike Trains
We construct a model that predicts the statistical properties of spike trains
generated by a sensory neuron. The model describes the combined effects of the
neuron's intrinsic properties, the noise in the surrounding, and the external
driving stimulus. We show that the spike trains exhibit universal statistical
behavior over short times, modulated by a strongly stimulus-dependent behavior
over long times. These predictions are confirmed in experiments on H1, a
motion-sensitive neuron in the fly visual system.Comment: 7 pages, 4 figure
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