title: Neural coding: sparse but on time.
abstract: To code information efficiently, sensory systems use sparse representations. In a sparse code, a specific stimulus activates only few spikes in a small number of neurons. A new study shows that the temporal pattern across sparsely activated neurons encodes information, suggesting that the sparse code extends into the time domain.
authors.affiliation: Biocenter, Institute for Zoology, Cologne Excellence Cluster on Cellular Stress Responses in Aging Associated Diseases (CECAD), University of Cologne, 50674 Cologne, Germany. Electronic address: peter.kloppenburg@uni-koeln.de.
authors.forename: Peter
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Kloppenburg
authors.affiliation: Theoretical Neuroscience, Institute of Biology, Freie Universität Berlin, 14195 Berlin, Germany. Electronic address: martin.nawrot@fu-berlin.de.
authors.forename: Martin Paul
authors.initials: MP
authors.lastname: Nawrot
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D005260:Female; D006110:Grasshoppers / Q000502:physiology*; D008297:Male; D024521:Mushroom Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D055696:Olfactory Perception