Neural Coding (Nov. 2000, Zoltan Nadasdy)

Syllabus

Introduction
coding, wiring, projection
modeling, abstract automatons
diversity across different sensory systems
invariants, objects, binding, gestalt
bottom-up, top-down, perception as a sensory-motor loop
Spikes
intra-extracellularly recorded action potentials (AP)
from AP to spikes
from single spikes to spike trains
spike density functions
Poisson process and statistics
coding models
spike time structures imposed by environmental cues
departure from Poissonian proc
similar spike trains - different readouts
Temporal patterns
temporal resolution of spikes
single neuron patterns and metric space analysis
Information theory and neural coding
Information (I) and entropy
bits and basics
I as decision between alternatives
the generalized stim-resp curve
stim resp distribution
I about the stim encoded by neural resp
mutual I
data processing inequality theorem
channel capacity of a neuron
reverse reconstruction
spike precision and response to dynamic stimuli
questions left open
Coding in the somatosensory system (SS)
basic paradigm: rat whisker stimulation
lemniscal and paralemniscal pathways
frequency and phase coding in the rat SS
cortical representation of whiskers: blobs and barrel cortex
cortical response for a single whisker deflection
reading objects from frequency and phase (time) of spikes
Olfaction and neural codes
Locust olfactory system (the whole Gilles Laurent)
the problem of neural code
coding with oscillations
how much does single neuron knows
rodents olfactory system
what is synchronization for?
who reads the synchronized spikes?
Auditory images and echolocation
cochlear nerve fibers
barn owl and sound localization
the auditory space
sound parallax
critical ranges of wavelength
first stage: cochlear nuclei
second stage: med. sup. olive
bat echolocation system
frequency tuning in the bat's auditory cortex
echolocation in dolphins
Motor Coding (MC)
Sensorymotor areas of the cerebral cortex
MC as an executive function
motor plcerebral cortex
MC as an executive function
motor plan - kinematics - dynamics
voluntary movements
cortical motor areas (MC)
input-output of the MC
mapping methods: stimulation, recording
the motor homunculus
pyramidal tract and innervation of muscles
neural correlates of force and displacement
position, direction, amplitude of velocity and acceleration
MC as a cognitive function
coding the direction of movements
population code and population vectors
coding the type of movement
preparation of a movement
construction and coordination of complex movements
Memory encoding, consolidation and retrieval
("repeating patterns support the replay hypothesis
of the memory consolidation in the hippocampus")
Questions and comments: zoli@md2.huji.ac.il .il