24 research outputs found
Exploring the Function of Neural Oscillations in Early Sensory Systems
Neuronal oscillations appear throughout the nervous system, in structures as diverse as the cerebral cortex, hippocampus, subcortical nuclei and sense organs. Whether neural rhythms contribute to normal function, are merely epiphenomena, or even interfere with physiological processing are topics of vigorous debate. Sensory pathways are ideal for investigation of oscillatory activity because their inputs can be defined. Thus, we will focus on sensory systems as we ask how neural oscillations arise and how they might encode information about the stimulus. We will highlight recent work in the early visual pathway that shows how oscillations can multiplex different types of signals to increase the amount of information that spike trains encode and transmit. Last, we will describe oscillation-based models of visual processing and explore how they might guide further research
Retinal oscillations carry visual information to cortex
Thalamic relay cells fire action potentials that transmit information from
retina to cortex. The amount of information that spike trains encode is usually
estimated from the precision of spike timing with respect to the stimulus.
Sensory input, however, is only one factor that influences neural activity. For
example, intrinsic dynamics, such as oscillations of networks of neurons, also
modulate firing pattern. Here, we asked if retinal oscillations might help to
convey information to neurons downstream. Specifically, we made whole-cell
recordings from relay cells to reveal retinal inputs (EPSPs) and thalamic
outputs (spikes) and analyzed these events with information theory. Our results
show that thalamic spike trains operate as two multiplexed channels. One
channel, which occupies a low frequency band (<30 Hz), is encoded by average
firing rate with respect to the stimulus and carries information about local
changes in the image over time. The other operates in the gamma frequency band
(40-80 Hz) and is encoded by spike time relative to the retinal oscillations.
Because these oscillations involve extensive areas of the retina, it is likely
that the second channel transmits information about global features of the
visual scene. At times, the second channel conveyed even more information than
the first.Comment: 21 pages, 10 figures, submitted to Frontiers in Systems Neuroscienc
Information transmission in oscillatory neural activity
Periodic neural activity not locked to the stimulus or to motor responses is
usually ignored. Here, we present new tools for modeling and quantifying the
information transmission based on periodic neural activity that occurs with
quasi-random phase relative to the stimulus. We propose a model to reproduce
characteristic features of oscillatory spike trains, such as histograms of
inter-spike intervals and phase locking of spikes to an oscillatory influence.
The proposed model is based on an inhomogeneous Gamma process governed by a
density function that is a product of the usual stimulus-dependent rate and a
quasi-periodic function. Further, we present an analysis method generalizing
the direct method (Rieke et al, 1999; Brenner et al, 2000) to assess the
information content in such data. We demonstrate these tools on recordings from
relay cells in the lateral geniculate nucleus of the cat.Comment: 18 pages, 8 figures, to appear in Biological Cybernetic
Neuroscience and the Study of Literature: Some Thoughts on the Possibility of Transferring Knowledge
Koepsell K, Spoerhase C. Neuroscience and the Study of Literature: Some Thoughts on the Possibility of Transferring Knowledge. Journal of Literary Theory. 2008;2(2):363-374