QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

HOME  |   SEARCH  |   ARCHIVE  |   SUBSCRIBE  |   CONTACT  |   HELP

The Journal of Neuroscience, July 26, 2006, 26(30):8009-8016; doi:10.1523/JNEUROSCI.5472-05.2006

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Submit an eLetter Alert me when this article is cited Alert me when eLetters are posted Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Related articles in J. Neurosci. Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via Web of Science (3) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Thomson, E. E. Articles by Kristan, W. B. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Thomson, E. E. Articles by Kristan, W. B.

 Previous Article

Behavioral/Systems/Cognitive
Encoding and Decoding Touch Location in the Leech CNS

Eric E. Thomson and William B. Kristan

Duke University, Durham, North Carolina 27710, and University of California, San Diego, La Jolla, California 92093

Correspondence should be addressed to William B. Kristan, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Pacific Hall 324, La Jolla, CA 92093. wkristan{at}ucsd.edu

Spike times encode stimulus values in many sensory systems, but it is generally unknown whether such temporal variations are decoded (i.e., whether they influence downstream networks that control behavior). In the present study, we directly address this decoding problem by quantifying both sensory encoding and decoding in the leech. By mechanically stimulating the leech body wall while recording from mechanoreceptors, we show that pairs of leech sensory neurons with overlapping receptive fields encode touch location by their relative latencies, number of spikes, and instantaneous firing rates, with relative latency being the most accurate indicator of touch location. We then show that the relative latency and count are decoded by manipulating these variables in sensory neuron pairs while simultaneously monitoring the resulting behavior. Although both variables are important determinants of leech behavior, the decoding mechanisms are more sensitive to changes in relative spike count than changes in relative latency.

Key words: leech; local bend response; sensory coding; decoding; touch discrimination; latency

---

Received Dec. 21, 2005; revised May 29, 2006; accepted June 21, 2006.

Correspondence should be addressed to William B. Kristan, University of California, San Diego, 9500 Gilman Drive, Pacific Hall 324, La Jolla, CA 92093. wkristan{at}ucsd.edu

Related articles in J. Neurosci.:

This Week in The Journal

J. Neurosci. 2006 26: i. [Full Text]  

This article has been cited by other articles:

				G. Foffani, M. L. Morales-Botello, and J. Aguilar Spike Timing, Spike Count, and Temporal Information for the Discrimination of Tactile Stimuli in the Rat Ventrobasal Complex J. Neurosci., May 6, 2009; 29(18): 5964 - 5973. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]

Home  |   Search  |   Archive  |   Subscribe  |   Contact  |   Help