HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Oswald, A.-M. M. Articles by Maler, L. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Oswald, A.-M. M. Articles by Maler, L.

Interval Coding. I. Burst Interspike Intervals as Indicators of Stimulus Intensity

¹Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine and ²Physics Department, ³Center for Neural Dynamics, University of Ottawa, Ottawa, Ontario, Canada

Submitted 15 September 2006; accepted in final form 5 December 2006

Short interspike intervals such as those that occur during burst firing are hypothesized to be distinct features of the neural code. Although a number of correlations between the occurrence of burst events and aspects of the stimulus have been identified, the relationship between burst characteristics and information transfer is uncertain. Pyramidal cells in the electrosensory lobe of the weakly electric fish, Apteronotus leptorhynchus, respond to dynamic broadband electrosensory stimuli with bursts and isolated spikes. In the present study, we mimic synaptic input during sensory stimulation by direct stimulation of electrosensory pyramidal cells with broadband current in vitro. The pyramidal cells respond to this stimulus with burst interspike intervals (ISIs) that are reliably and precisely correlated with the intensity of stimulus upstrokes. We found burst ISIs must differ by a minimum of 2 ms to discriminate, with low error, differences in stimulus intensity. Based on these results, we define and quantify a candidate interval code for the processing of sensory input. Finally, we demonstrate that interval coding is restricted to short ISIs such as those generated in burst events and that the proposed interval code is distinct from rate and timing codes.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				W. H. Mehaffey, L. Maler, and R. W. Turner Intrinsic Frequency Tuning in ELL Pyramidal Cells Varies Across Electrosensory Maps J Neurophysiol, May 1, 2008; 99(5): 2641 - 2655. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				M. L. Day, B. Doiron, and J. Rinzel Subthreshold K+ Channel Dynamics Interact With Stimulus Spectrum to Influence Temporal Coding in an Auditory Brain Stem Model J Neurophysiol, February 1, 2008; 99(2): 534 - 544. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				L. D. Ellis, W. H. Mehaffey, E. Harvey-Girard, R. W. Turner, L. Maler, and R. J. Dunn SK Channels Provide a Novel Mechanism for the Control of Frequency Tuning in Electrosensory Neurons J. Neurosci., August 29, 2007; 27(35): 9491 - 9502. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				W. H. Mehaffey, F. R. Fernandez, L. Maler, and R. W. Turner Regulation of Burst Dynamics Improves Differential Encoding of Stimulus Frequency by Spike Train Segregation J Neurophysiol, August 1, 2007; 98(2): 939 - 951. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				B. Doiron, A.-M. M. Oswald, and L. Maler Interval Coding. II. Dendrite-Dependent Mechanisms J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2007; 97(4): 2744 - 2757. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

				A. G. Dimitrov Pings the Body Electric (and Means It Too). Focus on "Interval Coding. I. Burst Interspike Intervals as Indicators of Stimulus Intensity" and "Interval Coding. II. Dendrite-Dependent Mechanisms" J Neurophysiol, April 1, 2007; 97(4): 2577 - 2578. [Full Text] [PDF]