Epithelial oscillations enhance signal detection in a peripheral sensory system

Neiman, Alexander, Engel, Tatiana, Russell, David, Helbig, Brian, Schimansky-Geier, Lutz (2009) Epithelial oscillations enhance signal detection in a peripheral sensory system. APS Meeting Abstracts.

URL: http://meetings.aps.org/Meeting/MAR09/Session/Y40....

Abstract

Rhythmic spontaneous activity was observed in various peripheral sensory systems. Many sensory receptors have a specific structure where detector cells in a sensory epithelium excite primary afferent neurons. We explore how stochastic oscillations of epithelial cells affect the ability of peripheral receptors to detect weak stimuli. We use a simple analytically tractable model to contrast signal detection in two situations: (i) when epithelial oscillations are coherent, and (ii) when the coherence of epithelial oscillations is destroyed. We show that coherent epithelial oscillations decrease the variability of neuronal firing and thus to enhance discriminability of weak signals. Model predictions are supported by the analysis of experimental data from the electroreceptors of paddlefish.

Item Type: Paper
Additional Information: Meeting Abstract
Subjects: Publication Type > Meeting Abstract
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > tissues types and functions > neural networks
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell types > neurons
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell types > neurons
organs, tissues, organelles, cell types and functions > cell types and functions > cell types > neurons
CSHL Authors:
Communities: CSHL labs > Engel lab
Depositing User: Matt Covey
Date: 2009
Date Deposited: 14 Aug 2017 20:44
Last Modified: 13 Mar 2018 19:04
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/35091

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