Testing the efficiency of sensory coding with optimal stimulus ensembles

Machens, C. K., Gollisch, T., Kolesnikova, O., Herz, A. V. (August 2005) Testing the efficiency of sensory coding with optimal stimulus ensembles. Neuron, 47 (3). pp. 447-56. ISSN 0896-6273 (Print)

URL: http://www.scopus.com/record/display.url?eid=2-s2....
DOI: 10.1016/j.neuron.2005.06.015

Abstract

According to Barlow's seminal "efficient coding hypothesis," the coding strategy of sensory neurons should be matched to the statistics of stimuli that occur in an animal's natural habitat. Using an automatic search technique, we here test this hypothesis and identify stimulus ensembles that sensory neurons are optimized for. Focusing on grasshopper auditory receptor neurons, we find that their optimal stimulus ensembles differ from the natural environment, but largely overlap with a behaviorally important sub-ensemble of the natural sounds. This indicates that the receptors are optimized for peak rather than average performance. More generally, our results suggest that the coding strategies of sensory neurons are heavily influenced by differences in behavioral relevance among natural stimuli.

Item Type: Paper
Uncontrolled Keywords: Acoustic Stimulation methods Action Potentials Animals Auditory Pathways physiology Behavior Animal physiology Environment Locusta migratoria Models Neurological Neurons Afferent physiology Reaction Time
Subjects: Investigative techniques and equipment > electrophysiology
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:
Depositing User: CSHL Librarian
Date: 4 August 2005
Date Deposited: 10 Jan 2012 15:59
Last Modified: 10 Jan 2012 15:59
URI: https://repository.cshl.edu/id/eprint/22640

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