title: Tradeoffs and constraints on neural representation in networks of cortical neurons.
abstract: Neural representation is pivotal in neuroscience. Yet, the large number and variance of underlying determinants make it difficult to distinguish general physiologic constraints on representation. Here we offer a general approach to the issue, enabling a systematic and well controlled experimental analysis of constraints and tradeoffs, imposed by the physiology of neuronal populations, on plausible representation schemes. Using in vitro networks of rat cortical neurons as a model system, we compared the efficacy of different kinds of "neural codes" to represent both spatial and temporal input features. Two rate-based representation schemes and two time-based representation schemes were considered. Our results indicate that, by large, all representation schemes perform well in the various discrimination tasks tested, indicating the inherent redundancy in neural population activity; Nevertheless, differences in representation efficacy are identified when unique aspects of input features are considered. We discuss these differences in the context of neural population dynamics.
authors.affiliation: Network Biology Laboratories, Technion, Haifa, Israel. keinat@tx.technion.ac.il
authors.forename: Einat
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Kermany
authors.forename: Asaf
authors.initials: A
authors.lastname: Gal
authors.forename: Vladimir
authors.initials: V
authors.lastname: Lyakhov
authors.forename: Ron
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Meir
authors.forename: Shimon
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Marom
authors.forename: Danny
authors.initials: D
authors.lastname: Eytan
mesh_terms: D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology; D000818:Animals; D000831:Animals, Newborn; D002478:Cells, Cultured; D002540:Cerebral Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D004558:Electric Stimulation; D004594:Electrophysiology; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009415:Nerve Net / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D051381:Rats; D017207:Rats, Sprague-Dawley