Abstract
SummaryThe spiking variability of neural networks has important implications for how information is encoded to higher brain regions. It has been well documented by numerous labs in many cortical and motor regions that spiking variability decreases with stimulus onset, yet whether this principle holds in the OB has not been tested. In stark contrast to this common view, we demonstrate that the onset of sensory input can cause an increase in the variability of neural activity in the mammalian OB. We show this in both anesthetized and awake rodents. Furthermore, we use computational models to describe the mechanisms of this phenomenon. Our findings establish sensory evoked increases in spiking variability as a viable alternative coding strategy.
Highlights
The variability of spiking in response to sensory input can significantly impact the coding efficacy of downstream neurons
SUMMARY The spiking variability of neural networks has important implications for how information is encoded to higher brain regions
It has been well documented by numerous labs in many cortical and motor regions that spiking variability decreases with stimulus onset, yet whether this principle holds in the olfactory bulb (OB) has not been tested
Summary
The variability of spiking in response to sensory input can significantly impact the coding efficacy of downstream neurons. Numerous experimental observations in diverse sensory cortical regions have established that the onset of sensory input causes a drop in the average spiking variability (Churchland et al, 2010). The spiking co-variability among simultaneously recorded pairs of neurons decreases in the evoked state (Doiron et al, 2016). There have been many theoretical studies detailing how neuron populations can have both increases in firing rate and decreases in (co-)variability at stimulus onset. Does stimulus-induced reduction of variability and co-variability generalize across all sensory neural systems? We were surprised to find that stimulus onset caused an increase in variability and co-variability of spiking among mitral cells (MCs) in OB
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