Abstract
The temporal pattern of action potentials can convey rich information in a variety of sensory systems. We describe a new non-invasive technique that enables precise, reliable generation of action potential patterns in tactile peripheral afferent neurons by brief taps on the skin. Using this technique, we demonstrate sophisticated coding of temporal information in the somatosensory system, that shows that perceived vibration frequency is not encoded in peripheral afferents as was expected by either their firing rate or the underlying periodicity of the stimulus. Instead, a burst gap or silent gap between trains of action potentials conveys frequency information. This opens the possibility of new encoding strategies that could be deployed to convey sensory information using mechanical or electrical stimulation in neural prostheses and brain-machine interfaces, and may extend to senses beyond artificial encoding of aspects of touch. We argue that a focus on appropriate use of effective temporal coding offers more prospects for rapid improvement in the function of these interfaces than attempts to scale-up existing devices.
Highlights
A sensory brain-machine interface bypasses the default systems of sensory input that transduce environmental signals into neural activity
There is a considerable body of existing research that suggests that the tactile system may encode information in multiple different ways, some of which depend on precise temporal features of action potential patterns
One challenge facing a population-based model is the dispersion in arrival times at the central nervous system (CNS), of spikes travelling in different afferents that originate from a single tactile event in the periphery
Summary
A sensory brain-machine interface bypasses the default systems of sensory input that transduce environmental signals into neural activity. A rate-based approach is used as the default encoding strategy of many sensory prostheses, in part because these devices simultaneously activate large populations of afferents, and because of the view that the temporal information will be recoded to a rate code anyway at higher levels of the nervous system (Ahissar, 1998). There is a considerable body of existing research that suggests that the tactile system may encode information in multiple different ways, some of which depend on precise temporal features of action potential patterns.
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