Abstract
Recently, we reported evidence for a novel mechanism of peripheral sensory coding based on oscillatory synchrony. Spontaneously oscillating electroreceptors in weakly electric fish (Mormyridae) respond to electrosensory stimuli with a phase reset that results in transient synchrony across the receptor population (Baker et al., 2015). Here, we asked whether the central electrosensory system actually detects the occurrence of synchronous oscillations among receptors. We found that electrosensory stimulation elicited evoked potentials in the midbrain exterolateral nucleus at a short latency following receptor synchronization. Frequency tuning in the midbrain resembled peripheral frequency tuning, which matches the intrinsic oscillation frequencies of the receptors. These frequencies are lower than those in individual conspecific signals, and instead match those found in collective signals produced by groups of conspecifics. Our results provide further support for a novel mechanism for sensory coding based on the detection of oscillatory synchrony among peripheral receptors.
Highlights
We recently proposed a novel mechanism for peripheral sensory coding based on the detection of transient synchrony among oscillatory receptors in weakly electric fish of the family Mormyridae (Baker et al, 2015)
We obtained evoked potentials elicited by conspecific electric organ discharges (EODs) in three P. microphthalmus and two B. niger (Figure 1E,F)
Our results provide further support for a novel mechanism for sensory coding based on the detection of oscillatory synchrony among sensory receptors
Summary
We recently proposed a novel mechanism for peripheral sensory coding based on the detection of transient synchrony among oscillatory receptors in weakly electric fish of the family Mormyridae (Baker et al, 2015). Whether the central electrosensory system detects the occurrence of synchronous receptor oscillations remained unknown. We tested this hypothesis using in vivo evoked potential recordings from a midbrain nucleus in the ascending electrosensory pathway of mormyrids. The ability to detect subtle variations in EOD waveform evolved independently in two mormyrid lineages (Carlson et al, 2011). All other petrocephaline species studied so far are unable to detect subtle variations in EOD waveform (Carlson et al, 2011). The perceptual ability to detect signal variation is associated with parallel evolutionary changes in the peripheral and central electrosensory system (Baker et al, 2015; Carlson et al, 2011)
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