Abstract
A biological analogue based on a modulator allows one to use the techniques developed in communication theory to estimate how well the system transmits information and, conversely, how well one can estimate the controlling signal from the output. In previous works, the similarities between neural activity and a pulse-modulation scheme known as integral pulsefrequency modulation (i.p.f.m.) were exploited. Recently (Hyndman and Mohn, 1975) i.p.f.m. was adapted by the addition of a dormant period to model the cardiac pacemaker. In the present study, i.p.f.m. is further adapted to include the variability observed in the pacemaker threshold, membrane potential and refractory period, and also to include a reasonable estimate of the effects of the neural-pacemaker interface. How these sources of variability affect the performance of the simulated system is examined. It is concluded that the low-pass filtering of R-R interval data will yield fair estimates of the controlling neural signal and that the pulse frequency-modulation model is applicable to this and other physiological systems.
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