Train signals for electric fish

Maler, Len

doi:10.1038/384517a0

Cited by 4 publications

(3 citation statements)

References 7 publications

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“…Therefore the example of the electric fish shows how slope detection by bursts can be adapted for bidirectional signaling (Fig. 4) and used in a behaviorally important computation (Maler, 1996;Gabbiani and Metzner, 1999).…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bursting Neurons Signal Input Slope

2002

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Brief bursts of high-frequency action potentials represent a common firing mode of pyramidal neurons, and there are indications that they represent a special neural code. It is therefore of interest to determine whether there are particular spatial and temporal features of neuronal inputs that trigger bursts. Recent work on pyramidal cells indicates that bursts can be initiated by a specific spatial arrangement of inputs in which there is coincident proximal and distal dendritic excitation (Larkum et al., 1999). Here we have used a computational model of an important class of bursting neurons to investigate whether there are special temporal features of inputs that trigger bursts. We find that when a model pyramidal neuron receives sinusoidally or randomly varying inputs, bursts occur preferentially on the positive slope of the input signal. We further find that the number of spikes per burst can signal the magnitude of the slope in a graded manner. We show how these computations can be understood in terms of the biophysical mechanism of burst generation. There are several examples in the literature suggesting that bursts indeed occur preferentially on positive slopes (Guido et al., 1992; Gabbiani et al., 1996). Our results suggest that this selectivity could be a simple consequence of the biophysics of burst generation. Our observations also raise the possibility that neurons use a burst duration code useful for rapid information transmission. This possibility could be further examined experimentally by looking for correlations between burst duration and stimulus variables.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Bursting Neurons Signal Input Slope

2002

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“…The electrosensory system in weakly electric fish provides the unique opportunity to combine computational and neuroethological approaches to quantif y the information transfer from the sensory periphery to higher order central neurons in a sensory system the elements of which have a well characterized functional and behavioral significance (Maler, 1996). When pre-and postsynaptic responses to the same stimulus in this in vivo preparation were compared, our data suggest a substantial transformation in the encoding pattern of sensory signals between the first two stages of the amplitude coding pathway.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Feature Extraction by Burst-Like Spike Patterns in Multiple Sensory Maps

et al. 1998

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In most sensory systems, higher order central neurons extract those stimulus features from the sensory periphery that are behaviorally relevant (e.g.,Marr, 1982; Heiligenberg, 1991). Recent studies have quantified the time-varying information carried by spike trains of sensory neurons in various systems using stimulus estimation methods (Bialek et al., 1991; Wessel et al., 1996). Here, we address the question of how this information is transferred from the sensory neuron level to higher order neurons across multiple sensory maps by using the electrosensory system in weakly electric fish as a model. To determine how electric field amplitude modulations are temporally encoded and processed at two subsequent stages of the amplitude coding pathway, we recorded the responses of P-type afferents and E- and I-type pyramidal cells in the electrosensory lateral line lobe (ELL) to random distortions of a mimic of the fish's own electric field. Cells in two of the three somatotopically organized ELL maps were studied (centromedial and lateral) (Maler, 1979; Carr and Maler, 1986). Linear and second order nonlinear stimulus estimation methods indicated that in contrast to P-receptor afferents, pyramidal cells did not reliably encode time-varying information about any function of the stimulus obtained by linear filtering and half-wave rectification. Two pattern classifiers were applied to discriminate stimulus waveforms preceding the occurrence or nonoccurrence of pyramidal cell spikes in response to the stimulus. These signal-detection methods revealed that pyramidal cells reliably encoded the presence of upstrokes and downstrokes in random amplitude modulations by short bursts of spikes. Furthermore, among the different cell types in the ELL, I-type pyramidal cells in the centromedial map performed a better pattern-recognition task than those in the lateral map and than E-type pyramidal cells in either map.

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“…The availability of genomic sequences for an electric fish will revolutionize studies on the expression, regulation and distribution of ion channels and neurotransmitter systems in the electrosensory system (Northcutt et al, 2000;Freitas et al, 2006). Active research in these areas include investigations into the neural physiology and molecular biology of electroreception (Maler & Monaghan, 1991;Maler & Mugnaini, 1994;Maler, 1996;1999a, b;Maler & Hincke, 1999) ion channels in the electrosensory system (Turner et al, 1994(Turner et al, , 1996(Turner et al, , 2002Turner & Moroz, 1995;Turner & Maler, 1999), neuronal physiology and mathematical modelling of electrosensory signals (Chacron et al, 2000(Chacron et al, , 2001a(Chacron et al, , b, 2003a(Chacron et al, , b, 2005a, comparative neuromorphology (Albert et al, 1998), neural physiology and biochemistry in the electrosensory system (Lewis & Maler, 2001;2002a, b, 2004 and the physiology of electrosensory signal processing (Krahe et al, 2000(Krahe et al, , 2002Krahe & Gabbiani, 2004). These multifold investigations into the physiology and molecular biology of the electric sense are providing unique insights into the mechanisms that neurons use to decode sensory signals in the vertebrate central nervous system (Zakon, 2003).…”

Section: Neurophysiology Of the Electrosensory System A Vertebrate 'mentioning

confidence: 99%

The case for sequencing the genome of the electric eel Electrophorus electricus

Albert

Zakon

Stoddard

et al. 2008

Journal of Fish Biology

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A substantial international community of biologists have proposed the electric eel Electrophorus electricus (Teleostei: Gymnotiformes) as an important candidate for genome sequencing. In this study, the authors outline the unique advantages that a genome sequencing project of this species would offer society for developing new ways of producing and storing electricity. Over tens of millions of years, electric fish have evolved an exceptional capacity to generate a weak (millivolt) electric field in the water near their body from specialized muscle-derived electric organs, and simultaneously, to sense changes in this field that occur when it interacts with foreign objects. This electric sense is used both to navigate and orient in murky tropical waters and to communicate with other members of the same species. Some species, such as the electric eel, have also evolved a strong voltage organ as a means of stunning prey. This organism, and a handful of others scattered worldwide, convert chemical energy from food directly into workable electric energy and could provide important clues on how this process could be manipulated for human benefit. Electric fishes have been used as models for the study of basic biological and behavioural mechanisms for more than 40 years by a large and growing research community. These fishes represent a rich source of experimental material in the areas of excitable membranes, neurochemistry, cellular differentiation, spinal cord regeneration, animal behaviour and the evolution of novel sensory and motor organs. Studies on electric fishes also have tremendous potential as a model for the study of developmental or disease processes, such as muscular dystrophy and spinal cord regeneration. Access to the genome sequence of E. electricus will provide society with a whole new set of molecular tools for understanding the biophysical control of electromotive molecules, excitable membranes and the cellular production of weak and strong electric fields. Understanding the regulation of ion channel genes will be central for efforts to induce the differentiation of electrogenic cells in other tissues and organisms and to control the intrinsic electric behaviours of these cells. Dense genomic sequence information of E. electricus will also help elucidate the genetic basis for the origin and adaptive diversification of a novel vertebrate tissue. The value of existing resources within the community of electric fish research will be greatly enhanced across a broad range of physiological and environmental sciences by having a draft genome sequence of the electric eel.

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Train signals for electric fish

Cited by 4 publications

References 7 publications

Bursting Neurons Signal Input Slope

Bursting Neurons Signal Input Slope

Feature Extraction by Burst-Like Spike Patterns in Multiple Sensory Maps

The case for sequencing the genome of the electric eel Electrophorus electricus

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