Quantitative Approaches to Neural Coding

HST.722J/9.044J - Fall 2007
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Quantitative approaches for studies of neural coding (Delgutte)

Optimal distribution of best ITD as a function of frequency for cat and human.  From Harper and McAlpine (2004)

Background

  1. Parker AJ, Newsome WT.  Sense and the single neuron: Probing the physiology of perception.  Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 21:227-277 (1998).  PDF  Classic review of relation between neural coding and perception, with illustration of signal detection theory. 
  2. Abdi H.  Signal detection theory.  In Encyclopedia of measurements and statistics, N Salkind (Ed), Thousand Oaks:Sage, pp 1-9.  Short introduction to signal detection theory.  PDF
  3. Nelken I, Chechik G.  Information theory in auditory research.  Hearing Res. 229:94-105 (2007).  PDF  Gentle introduction to information theory.  You can skip section on "Practice of mutual information estimation."
  4. Truccolo W, Eden UT, Fellows MR, Donoghue JP, Brown EN.  A point process framework for relating neural spiking activity to spiking history, neural ensemble, and extrinsic covariate effects. J Neurophysiol 93:1074–1089 (2005). PDF  Background for the mini-lecture by Anna Dreyer on 9/27.  Skip the sections on decoding analysis in both Method and Results. 

Papers for discussion

  1. Skottun BC, Shackleton TM, Arnott RH, Palmer AR.  The ability of inferior colliculus neurons to signal differences in interaural delay.  PNAS 98:14050-14054 (2001).  PDF See also Discussed 9/25
  2. Hancock KE, Delgutte B.  A physiologically based model of interaural time difference discrimination.  J Neurosci. 24:7110-7 (2004).  PDF  Discussed 9/25.
  3. Harper NS, McAlpine D.  Optimal neural population coding of an auditory spatial cue. Nature 430:682-685 (2004). PDF  Discussed 9/25.
  4. Chase SM, Young ED.  Limited segregation of different types of sound localization information among classes of units in the inferior colliculus. J Neurosci. 25:7575-85 (2005).  PDF  Discussed 9/27
  5. Chechik G, Anderson MJ, Bar-Yosef O, Young ED, Tishby N, Nelken I.  Reduction of information redundancy in the ascending auditory pathway.  Neuron 51:359-368 (2006).  PDF  Supplement Discussed 9/27.

Further reading

Information theory

  1. Rieke F, Warland D, de Ruyter Van Steveninck R, Bialek W. Spikes.  MIT Press.  (1999).  A remarkably clear introduction to the application of information theory to neuroscience.
  2. Buracas GT, Albright TD.  Gauging sensory representations in the brain.  Trends Neurosci. 22:303-9 (1999). PDF  Short primer on the use of information theory in neuroscience.
  3. Borst A, Theunissen FE.  Information theory and neural coding.  Nat Neurosci. 2:947-57 (1999).  PDF  More detailed introduction to information theory than above.
  4. Johnson DH.  Dialogue concerning neural coding and information theory. Unpublished document, August 2003. Discusses the difficulties of applying information theory to studies of neural coding.

Signal detection theory

  1. Delgutte B.  Physiological models for basic auditory percepts.  In Auditory Computation, edited by HH Hawkins, TA McMullen, AN Popper, and RR Fay, New York: Springer, pp. 157-220 (1996).  PDF  Illustrates how signal detection theory is used to predict psychophysical performance from auditory-nerve activity.
  2. Colburn HS, Carney LH, Heinz MG.  Quantifying the information in auditory-nerve responses for level discrimination.  J Assoc Res Otolaryngol 4:294-311 (2003).   PDF  Similar to Delgutte (1996) with a focus on intensity discrimination and new results, particularly on temporal coding.