Quality Time: Representation of a Multidimensional Sensory Domain through Temporal Coding

Lorenzo, Patricia M. Di; Chen, Jen-Yung; Victor, Jonathan D.

doi:10.1523/jneurosci.5995-08.2009

Cited by 61 publications

(62 citation statements)

References 38 publications

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“…For example, an average I * max (S P , S) < 0.3 was extracted in Victor and Purpura (1996), Victor and Purpura (1997), Victor and Purpura (1998), Mechler et al (1998), Reich et al (2001b), Samonds and Bonds (2004), and Di Lorenzo and Victor (2007). In other cases average values were higher, for example I * max (S P , S) > 0.6 for Di Lorenzo and Victor (2003), Roussin et al (2008), and Di Lorenzo et al (2009), but still low values were found for some cells.…”

Section: The Application Of Discrimination Analysis To Experimental Dmentioning

confidence: 96%

“…In one case, transient constant stimuli are presented and the responses are recorded including the period of the stimulus presentation and potentially some period after the stimulus presentation (e. g. Purpura, 1996, 1998;Reich et al, 2001b;Aronov et al, 2003;Di Lorenzo and Victor, 2003;Di Lorenzo et al, 2009). In Section 3.2.2 we investigated the influence of the length of the spike trains L used in the discrimination analysis for simulations of different types of responses to transient presentation of constant stimuli.…”

Section: The Application Of Discrimination Analysis To Experimental Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

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What can spike train distances tell us about the neural code?

Chicharro

Kreuz

Andrzejak

2011

Journal of Neuroscience Methods

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Time scale parametric spike train distances like the Victor and the van Rossum distances are often applied to study the neural code based on neural stimuli discrimination. Different neural coding hypotheses, such as rate or coincidence coding, can be assessed by combining a time scale parametric spike train distance with a classifier in order to obtain the optimal discrimination performance. The time scale for which the responses to different stimuli are distinguished best is assumed to be the discriminative precision of the neural code. The relevance of temporal coding is evaluated by comparing the optimal discrimination performance with the one achieved when assuming a rate code.We here characterize the measures quantifying the discrimination performance, the discriminative precision, and the relevance of temporal coding. Furthermore, we evaluate the information these quantities provide about the neural code. We show that the discriminative precision is too unspecific to be interpreted in terms of the time scales relevant for encoding. Accordingly, the time scale parametric nature of the distances is mainly an advantage because it allows maximizing the discrimination performance across a whole set of measures with different sensitivities determined by the time scale parameter, but not due to the possibility to examine the temporal properties of the neural code.

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Section: The Application Of Discrimination Analysis To Experimental Dmentioning

confidence: 96%

Section: The Application Of Discrimination Analysis To Experimental Dmentioning

confidence: 99%

What can spike train distances tell us about the neural code?

Chicharro

Kreuz

Andrzejak

2011

Journal of Neuroscience Methods

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“…Here we focus on temporal codes, in which the precise timing of action potentials carries information (Lestienne, 2001;Theunissen and Miller, 1995). Temporal codes have been implicated in the processing of somatosensory (Jones et al, 2004), olfactory (Laurent, 1997), gustatory (Di Lorenzo et al, 2009), visual (Victor and Purpura, 1996), auditory (deCharms and Merzenich, 1996), vestibular (Sadeghi et al, 2007), mechanosensory lateral line (Goulet et al, 2012) and electrosensory stimuli (Carlson, 2008b).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Multiplexed temporal coding of electric communication signals in mormyrid fishes

Baker

Kohashi

Lyons-Warren

et al. 2013

Journal of Experimental Biology

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SummaryThe coding of stimulus information into patterns of spike times occurs widely in sensory systems. Determining how temporally coded information is decoded by central neurons is essential to understanding how brains process sensory stimuli. Mormyrid weakly electric fishes are experts at time coding, making them an exemplary organism for addressing this question. Mormyrids generate brief, stereotyped electric pulses. Pulse waveform carries information about sender identity, and it is encoded into submillisecond-to-millisecond differences in spike timing between receptors. Mormyrids vary the time between pulses to communicate behavioral state, and these intervals are encoded into the sequence of interspike intervals within receptors. Thus, the responses of peripheral electroreceptors establish a temporally multiplexed code for communication signals, one consisting of spike timing differences between receptors and a second consisting of interspike intervals within receptors. These signals are processed in a dedicated sensory pathway, and recent studies have shed light on the mechanisms by which central circuits can extract behaviorally relevant information from multiplexed temporal codes. Evolutionary change in the anatomy of this pathway is related to differences in electrosensory perception, which appears to have influenced the diversification of electric signals and species. However, it remains unknown how this evolutionary change relates to differences in sensory coding schemes, neuronal circuitry and central sensory processing. The mormyrid electric communication pathway is a powerful model for integrating mechanistic studies of temporal coding with evolutionary studies of correlated differences in brain and behavior to investigate neural mechanisms for processing temporal codes.Key words: sub-millisecond timing differences, duration tuning, interval tuning, coincidence detection, anti-coincidence detection, delay line, temporal filter, weakly electric fish, electric organ discharge. Division of Biological Science, Graduate School of Science, Nagoya University, Nagoya, Japan *Author for correspondence (carlson.bruce@wustl.edu) THE JOURNAL OF EXPERIMENTAL BIOLOGY 2366 that links changes in neural circuitry to differences in behavior. From the perspective of the central nervous system, there is no difference between the electrosense and other modalities -all stimuli are represented as patterns of spiking. Therefore, the mechanisms by which mormyrids process temporally coded information are relevant to understanding basic principles for how any neural circuit can solve this problem.Electric signals in mormyrid fishes communicate sender identity and behavioral state Two components of electrocommunication: EOD and IPI Mormyrids produce an electric organ discharge (EOD) to communicate and actively sense their environment (Hopkins, 1986). These fish have three types of electroreceptors in their skin: mormyromasts are used for active sensing, ampullary receptors for passive sensing and knollenorgans for commun...

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“…In a series of studies of taste-responsive cells in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), the first central relay of the gustatory system, we have shown that information about taste quality conveyed by increases in firing rate can be supplemented by information conveyed by spike timing Victor 2003, 2007;Di Lorenzo et al 2009;Roussin et al 2008). The contribution of spike timing was particularly significant when two tastants evoked nearly equal firing rates (Roussin et al 2008).…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

“…However, the problem remains that for almost every cell, there are suprathreshold, moderate concentrations of different taste qualities for which a cell will respond with equal vigor. Thus the gustatory system makes an excellent model for the study of how the nervous system disentangles intensity and identity in single cells.In a series of studies of taste-responsive cells in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS), the first central relay of the gustatory system, we have shown that information about taste quality conveyed by increases in firing rate can be supplemented by information conveyed by spike timing Victor 2003, 2007;Di Lorenzo et al 2009;Roussin et al 2008). The contribution of spike timing was particularly significant when two tastants evoked nearly equal firing rates (Roussin et al 2008).…”

mentioning

confidence: 99%

Temporal Coding of Intensity of NaCl and HCl in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract of the Rat

Chen

Victor

Lorenzo

2011

Journal of Neurophysiology

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. Sensory neurons are generally tuned to a subset of stimulus qualities within their sensory domain and manifest this tuning by the relative size of their responses to stimuli of equal intensity. However, response size alone cannot unambiguously signal stimulus quality, since response size also depends on stimulus intensity. Thus a common problem faced by sensory systems is that response size (e.g., spike count) confounds stimulus quality and intensity. Here, using the gustatory system as a model, we asked whether temporal firing characteristics could disambiguate these axes. To address this question, we recorded taste responses of single neurons in the nucleus of the solitary tract (NTS, the first central gustatory relay) in anesthetized rats to a range of concentrations of NaCl and HCl and their binary mixtures. To assess the contribution of the temporal characteristics of the response to discrimination among tastants, a family of metrics that quantifies the similarity of two spike trains in terms of spike count and spike timing was used. Results showed that the spike count produced by different taste qualities and different concentrations overlapped in most cells, implying that information conveyed by spike count is imprecise. Multidimensional scaling analysis of taste responses using similarity of temporal characteristics showed that different taste qualities, intensities, and mixtures formed distinct clusters in this "temporal coding" taste space and were arranged in a logical order. Thus the temporal structure of taste responses in single cells in the NTS can simultaneously convey information about both taste quality and intensity. I N T R O D U C T I O NIn all sensory systems, individual cells are tuned to respond selectively to a certain set of stimuli. The variety of tuning curves across cells spans and defines the broader stimulus domain and enables the identification and discrimination of different stimuli. However, changes in stimulus intensity generally broaden those tuning curves and may produce confusion between a change in stimulus intensity and a change in identity. When the tuning (specificity) is narrow, the identity of the neuron can signal the identity of the stimulus (e.g., pitch, color, taste quality, etc.) and the relative firing rate can indicate intensity (e.g., loudness, brightness, concentration). In a system such as gustation, where most cells respond well to more than one taste quality (sweet, sour, salty, bitter, and perhaps umami), stimuli of different taste qualities can evoke equivalent firing rates if the concentrations are just right. As a result, in most cases firing rate alone cannot convey an unambiguous message about taste quality, especially in broadly tuned neurons.In many studies of taste-responsive cells in the CNS, groups of cells are defined by the stimulus that evokes the "best" or most robust response when exemplars of each basic taste quality are presented at moderate concentrations. Even though most cells are multisensitive across taste qualities, several researc...

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Quality Time: Representation of a Multidimensional Sensory Domain through Temporal Coding

Cited by 61 publications

References 38 publications

What can spike train distances tell us about the neural code?

What can spike train distances tell us about the neural code?

Multiplexed temporal coding of electric communication signals in mormyrid fishes

Temporal Coding of Intensity of NaCl and HCl in the Nucleus of the Solitary Tract of the Rat

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