Tradeoffs and Constraints on Neural Representation in Networks of Cortical Neurons

• DOI: 10.1523/jneurosci.0661-10.2010
• Publication Date: 2013-07-08T17:41:44Z
• Authors: E. Kermany; A. Gal; V. Lyakhov; R. Meir; S. Marom; D. Eytan
• Keywords: Cerebral Cortex; Neurons; 0303 health sciences; Models, Neurological; Action Potentials; Electric Stimulation; Rats; Electrophysiology; Rats, Sprague-Dawley; 03 medical and health sciences; Animals, Newborn; Animals; Nerve Net; Cells, Cultured

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.