title: Equalization and decorrelation in primary visual cortex.
abstract: There are many theories on the purpose of neural adaptation, but evidence remains elusive. Here, we discuss the recent work by Benucci et al. (Nat Neurosci 16: 724-729, 2013), who measured for the first time the immediate effects of adaptation on the overall activity of a neuronal population. These measurements confirm two long-standing hypotheses about the purpose of adaptation, namely that adaptation counteracts biases in the statistics of the environment, and that it maintains decorrelation in neuronal stimulus selectivity.
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and Radboud University Nijmegen, Donders Institute for Brain, Cognition and Behaviour, Nijmegen, The Netherlands k.haak@donders.ru.nl.
authors.forename: Koen V
authors.initials: KV
authors.lastname: Haak
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and.
authors.forename: Elizabeth
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Fast
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and.
authors.forename: Yihwa
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Baek
authors.affiliation: Department of Psychology, University of Minnesota, Minneapolis, Minnesota; and.
authors.forename: Juraj
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Mesik
mesh_terms: D000222:Adaptation, Physiological / Q000502:physiology*; D000223:Adaptation, Psychological / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006706:Homeostasis / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*; D014793:Visual Cortex / Q000502:physiology*
keywords: adaptation; decorrelation; equalization; visual cortex