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The Journal of Neuroscience, February 1, 2000, 20(3):1129-1141
Decoding Temporal Information: A Model Based on Short-Term
Synaptic Plasticity
Dean V.
Buonomano
Department of Neurobiology and Psychology, and Brain Research
Institute, University of California-Los Angeles, Los Angeles,
California 90095
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ABSTRACT |
In the current paper it is proposed that short-term plasticity and
dynamic changes in the balance of excitatory-inhibitory interactions
may underlie the decoding of temporal information, that is, the
generation of temporally selective neurons. Our initial approach was to
simulate excitatory-inhibitory disynaptic circuits. Such circuits were
composed of a single excitatory and inhibitory neuron and incorporated
short-term plasticity of EPSPs and IPSPs and slow IPSPs. We first
showed that it is possible to tune cells to respond selectively to
different intervals by changing the synaptic weights of different
synapses in parallel. In other words, temporal tuning can rely on
long-term changes in synaptic strength and does not require changes in
the time constants of the temporal properties. When the units studied
in disynaptic circuits were incorporated into a larger single-layer
network, the units exhibited a broad range of temporal selectivity
ranging from no interval tuning to interval-selective tuning.
The variability in temporal tuning relied on the variability of
synaptic strengths. The network as a whole contained a robust
population code for a wide range of intervals. Importantly, the same
network was able to discriminate simple temporal sequences. These
results argue that neural circuits are intrinsically able to process
temporal information on the time scale of tens to hundreds of
milliseconds and that specialized mechanisms, such as delay lines or
oscillators, may not be necessary.
Key words:
interval; short-term plasticity; paired-pulse
facilitation; paired-pulse depression; timing; temporal
processing
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INTRODUCTION |
Our perception of the world is based
on the spatiotemporal patterns of neuronal activity produced at sensory
layers. By decoding these patterns the brain determines what we see and
hear. It is useful to distinguish between the spatial and temporal
content of stimuli because fundamentally different mechanisms may
underlie each form of processing. Spatial information refers to stimuli defined by the location of active sensory afferents. For instance, vertical and horizontal bars of light activate different retinal ganglion cells arranged in specific spatial patterns. Similarly, 1 and
4 kHz tones activate spatially distinct populations of cochlear hair
cells. In both cases there is a place code at the earliest sensory
stages. In its simplest form, the generation of neurons that respond
selectively to spatial stimuli is a wiring problem: a neuron that
responds to a vertical bar or a 1 kHz tone must directly or indirectly
receive functional inputs from the appropriate sensory neurons in the
retina or cochlea. Temporal information refers to stimuli defined by
the temporal structure of active sensory neurons. If a bar of light is
present for 50 or 100 msec, in both cases the same groups of retinal
ganglion cells are active. Similarly, if two brief 1 kHz tones are
separated by 50 or 100 msec the same population of hair cells will be
active. Thus, for neurons to respond selectively to a 50 or 100 msec
stimulus, an additional process must occur: at some stage a temporal to
spatial transformation must transpire.
The above examples emphasize the need to decode information that
directly reflects the temporal characteristics of external stimuli-or
what can be considered extrinsic temporal information. In addition, a
similar problem is posed by the presence of intrinsically generated
temporal codes. Theoretical and experimental data suggest that temporal
information is also present in the responses to both static and
steady-state stimuli (Richmond et al., 1990 ; McClurkin et al., 1991 ;
Middlebrooks et al., 1994 ; Mechler et al., 1998 ; Prut et al.,
1998 ; Buonomano and Merzenich, 1999 ). For example, Richmond et
al. (1990) have shown that by taking into account the temporal
structure of neuronal responses to static Walsh patterns, there is more
information about the stimuli than there is in the firing rate alone.
More recently Mechler et al. (1998) have shown that there is
considerable information relating to the contrast of transient stimuli
in the temporal pattern of V1 neuron firing. If the brain uses these
temporal codes, a critical issue is how they are decoded by the nervous
system. Decoding intrinsically generated temporal codes poses the same
problem as that of extrinsic temporal information.
The time scale of information processing by the nervous system ranges
over many orders of magnitude: from a few microseconds, to
milliseconds, to many seconds and above. Here we focus on the millisecond time scale. It is within this time range that much sensory
processing, including interval discrimination (Wright et al., 1997 ) and
speech perception (Tallal 1994 ; Shannon et al., 1995 ) occurs, and in
which some intrinsic temporal codes are hypothesized to operate
(Mechler et al., 1998 ). Furthermore, experimental data has shown that
some sensory neurons respond selectively to temporal features of
stimuli on the time scale of tens to hundreds of milliseconds, including call-sensitive neurons in monkeys (Rauschecker et al., 1995 ;
Wang et al., 1995 ), interval and duration-sensitive neurons (Riquimaroux 1994 ; He et al., 1997 ), song-sensitive neurons in birds
(Margoliash 1983 ; Doupe and Konishi, 1991 ; Lewicki and Arthur, 1996 ),
call-sensitive neurons in frogs (Alder and Rose, 1998 ), and
word-selective neurons in humans (Creutzfeldt et al., 1989 ).
To date, little is known about the neural mechanisms underlying
temporal selectivity in the millisecond range (see Discussion; for
review, see Ivry, 1996 ; Gibbon et al., 1997 ). Various mechanisms have
been proposed to account for the sensory side of temporal processing,
including internal clocks (Creelman, 1962 ; Treisman, 1963 ), delay lines
(Braitenberg, 1967 ; Tank and Hopfield, 1987 ), and oscillators (Miall,
1989 ; Ahissar et al., 1997 ). We have previously proposed that
time-dependent neuronal properties may underlie temporal processing
(Buonomano and Merzenich, 1995 ). Using a large multilayer network we
showed that the network was able to discriminate among a wide range of
temporal stimuli.
The goal of the current paper was to perform a computational analysis
of simple circuits that incorporate experimentally defined time-dependent properties and to understand the minimal requirements necessary for temporal processing. Three time-dependent properties in
particular were examined because they are experimentally well defined
and likely to be critical in shaping the postsynaptic responses to
time-varying stimuli: (1) paired-pulse facilitation (PPF) of
monosynaptic EPSPs (Zucker, 1989 ; Zalutsky and Nicoll, 1990 ; Manabe et
al., 1993 ; Stratford et al., 1996 ; Reyes and Sakmann, 1998 ); (2)
paired-pulse depression (PPD) of fast IPSPs (Deisz and Prince, 1989 ;
Davies et al., 1990 ; Nathan and Lambert, 1991 ; Fukuda et al., 1993 ;
Lambert and Wilson, 1993 ; Buonomano and Merzenich, 1998 ); and (3) slow
IPSPs (Newberry and Nicoll, 1984 ; Hablitz and Thalmann, 1987 ; Olpe et
al., 1994 ). First, using simple disynaptic circuits we showed that
interval tuning can arise from changes in synaptic strength, in the
absence of changes in any time constants. This observation suggests
that long-term synaptic plasticity could underlie the formation of not
only spatial, but of temporal receptive fields. The analysis of a
larger single-layer network revealed that in a randomly connected
network, that the distribution of temporal responses of the individual
units is sufficiently broad to form a robust population code for a wide
range of temporal intervals and sequences.
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MATERIALS AND METHODS |
Simulation of disynaptic circuits. All simulations
were performed with NEURON (Hines and Moore, 1997 ) running on an
SGI Octane workstation. Each unit was simulated as a
single-compartment Hodgkin-Huxley unit. The Hodgkin-Huxley equations
and parameters used are shown in Figure
1. Parameters were based on those used by
Traub et al. (1992) . In addition to the
Na+, K+, and
leak current, a "noise" current was also present.

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Figure 1.
Equations used to simulate the Ex and Inh units.
Variable names and units follow the conventions used in NEURON. The
simulations consisted of separate modules for the cell somas
(large circles) and synapses. The equations for the
synapses are described in Materials and Methods. Parameters for PPF,
PPD, and the slow IPSP were actually computed in the somatic
compartment and then passed to the synaptic modules (because short-term
plasticity of all the synapses of a given unit will have the same
values). The arrows between both modules represent the
passing of these pointer variables.
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Fast EPSPs and fast IPSPs
Fast EPSPs and fast IPSPs were simulated using "kinetic
synapse" equations (Destexhe et al., 1993 ; Golomb et al., 1994 ).
Synaptic transmission occurs during a brief pulse of a fixed duration, where ton and
toff represent the onset and offset of
the pulse (toff = ton + 1 msec). During a pulse,
receptor activation R(t), which is proportional
to synaptic conductance, follows:
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(1)
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after a pulse R(t) is governed by
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(2)
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where
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(3)
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and
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(4)
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As shown in Figure 1, , which contributes to the rising phase
of the PSP was set to 0.5 for both the excitatory and inhibitory synapses. , which contributes to the decay phase of the PSP, was
0.25 and 0.167 for excitatory and inhibitory synapses, respectively.
Three time-dependent properties were incorporated into the simulations:
paired-pulse facilitation of EPSPs, paired-pulse depression of IPSPs,
and slow IPSPs. Each of these is described below and shown in Figure
2.

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Figure 2.
Simulated PPF of EPSPs (A),
PPD of IPSPs (B), and the slow IPSP
(C). EPSPs and IPSPs in the Ex unit are shown in
response to paired-pulse stimulation at intervals ranging from 25 to
375 msec. Note that that some of the apparent facilitation observed in
response to intervals <75 msec is attributable to temporal summation
as well as actual paired-pulse facilitation.
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Slow IPSPs
The slow IPSP was simulated using previously described equations
(Golomb et al., 1994 ). The same equations used for fast synaptic transmission were used with the addition of a second component, G(t), representing G-protein activation:
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(5)
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where G is a sigmoid
function of R, which was described in Equations
1-4.
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(6)
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For the slow IPSP it is G(t) not
R(t) that is proportional to the synaptic conductance.
PPD of the fast IPSP
PPD of fast IPSPs was simulated by modulating the amount of
transmitter released using the same time course as the
GABAB conductance. The degree of paired-pulse
depression, PPD(t) was a function of G:
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(7)
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PPD(t) modulates the strength of both the
fast and slow IPSPs.
PPF of excitatory synapses
PPF was simulated using of an function, reinitiated at each
spike occurrence (Buonomano and Merzenich, 1995 ):
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(8)
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where tispike represents the
occurrence of the last spike in unit i. In the large
network, simulations were also run with facilitation implemented using
a more realistic model described by Markram et al. (1998) with
similar results.
Synaptic delays were on average 1 and 2 msec for EPSPs onto inhibitory
(Inh) and excitatory (Ex) units, respectively (Thomson et al., 1988 ;
Markram et al., 1997 ). These delays were meant to capture time delays
produced by axon and dendritic conduction times and synaptic delays.
Simulation of large networks. For simulations of a large
network, the same units used above were incorporated into a
single-layer network composed of 400 Ex units and 100 Inh units. A 4:1
ratio was used because it is the observed ratio of excitatory to
inhibitory neurons in neocortical areas (Beaulieu et al., 1992 ). It is
generally reported that a pyramidal neuron receives ~4000 synapses,
and the probability of a connection between local pyramidal cells is
2-8% (Thomson et al., 1988 ; Mason et al., 1991 ; Thomson and West,
1993 ). To simulate the absolute number of synapses and the correct
probability would require 40,000-80,000 Ex units. We chose to simulate
the correct probability (in part because of computational efficiency).
We assumed that the probability of connectivity between cell types was
~5% (resulting in a small number of synapses on each unit). The
connectivity was also constrained by experimental data showing that
~20% of the synapses onto a neuron are GABAergic (Beaulieu et al.,
1992 ). Table 1 shows the synaptic
convergence on to each unit and the average synaptic strength assigned
to each synapse. The network was driven by two input pulses separated by a given interval. Each input pulse consisted of a burst of three
spikes at 300 Hz.
Recognition network. To determine whether the population
response of the large network contained sufficient information to permit discrimination of different stimuli, a layer of output units was
used in conjunction with a supervised learning rule. The number of
output units corresponded to the number of stimuli presented to the
network, and each unit received inputs from all the Ex units. Synaptic
strengths were adjusted using a supervised rule [backpropagation with
no hidden units; Rumelhart and McClelland (1986) ]. The strength of the
connection from Ex unit I to output unit j was governed by:
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(9)
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where is the error value for the output unit j (0 or 1).
Note that supervised learning rules are generally not used for continuous time models, thus for training the input to the network was
the number of spikes from each unit in response to the whole stimulus
or each pulse (N). By collapsing time we were able to train the recognition network using conventional algorithms. However, after training the synaptic weights for the output units could be used
to observe the network behavior in a continuous time manner (see Fig.
9). We emphasize that this discrimination network is used as a
technique to analyze the information content of the network and not
necessarily meant to be a physiological representation of a
read-out.
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RESULTS |
Our first goal was to understand how the synaptic strengths of
multiple synapses in a disynaptic circuit composed of one Ex and one
Inh unit shape the responses to simple temporal stimuli. We
examined if orchestrated changes in synaptic weights at multiple loci
can be used to generate temporally selective responses.
Analysis of order selectivity
We first examined the simplest form of temporal selectivity: the
response preference of the Ex unit to the first or second of a pair of
pulses presented 100 msec apart. Figure
3A shows a schematic of the
disynaptic circuit with five different synapses (Input Ex; Input
Inh; Inhfast Ex;
Inhslow Ex; Inhslow Inh). In these simulations the Inhfast Inh
was set to zero, because the fast IPSP decays before the occurrence of
the second pulse. Simulation traces in red show an example of the
response to paired pulse stimulation at 100 msec, in which the Ex unit responds only to the second pulse: the first pulse generates a subthreshold EPSP, whereas the second input is suprathreshold because
of PPF of the EPSP and PPD of the IPSP. By increasing two synaptic
strengths (Input Ex and Inhslow Ex) the
suprathreshold response of the Ex unit changes from the second pulse to
the first. As a result of the increase in the Input Ex strength the
first pulse is now suprathreshold. The second now generates a
subthreshold EPSP despite the PPF and PPD, because of the increased
strength of the slow IPSPs.

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Figure 3.
Simulations of order selectivity.
A, The panel on the left shows the
disynaptic circuit and the synaptic weights. The voltage of the Ex unit
(top traces) and Inh unit (bottom traces)
in response to a 100 msec interval. Depending on the strength of two
synapses, Input Ex and GABAB Ex, the Ex unit
responds selectively to the first (green) or
second pulse (red). B, Parametric
analysis of synapse space. Each plot varies the strength of the Input
Ex (x-axis), and GABAB Ex
(y-axis). The strength of the GABAA
Ex was also varied as shown across the two subplots. Simulations
were performed in the presence of noise in both units. The color scale
represents the probability of firing to the first pulse and second
pulse. Intense green means that given those synaptic
strengths, the probability of firing to the first pulse and not to the
second was 1.0. Red represents conditions in which the
Ex unit responds selectively to the second pulse. Yellow
represents nonselective responses to both pulses. Note that in each
panel there is a transition along the diagonal that represents the
point in which a unit changes its selectivity from the second to first
pulse and that this transition points shifts to the left
across plots.
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These simulations provide a straightforward and intuitive example of
how a simple disynaptic circuit can exhibit two modes of order
selectivity depending on the synaptic strength of two synapses. To
understand the transition between different modes and to determine the
robustness of each mode, a parametric analysis of "synapse space"
was performed. In each of the subplots of Figure 3B the
order sensitivity of the circuit was examined while varying the
strengths of the Input Ex and GABAB Ex
connections over a range of 25 different values. Each subplot reflects
a different strength of the GABAA Ex
connection. In these simulations, noise was present in both units
(rms of 1.4 and 1 mV in the Ex and Inh units, respectively). As
a result of the noise, the behavior the units varied from trial to
trial allowing the calculation of the response probability to the first
and second pulse. The intensity of green and red is proportional to the
probability of firing in response to first and second pulses,
respectively. Cells that have a high probability of firing to both
pulses are thus represented in yellow. The transition between
first-pulse-selective and second-pulse-selective modes occurs at the
red-green transition in each subplot. Transitions occur when the
GABAB strength (vertical axis) becomes strong
enough to prevent the second potentially suprathreshold EPSP from
reaching threshold and when the Ex strength (horizontal axis) for the
first pulse becomes suprathreshold. The transition point is not fixed, but a function of the strength of the fast IPSP. As the strength of the
fast IPSP increases the transition point shifts to the right. This
occurs true because even though the fast IPSP must flow through two
synapses, it still can "cutoff" the fast EPSP before it produces a
suprathreshold response (see below). Thus, as
GABAA increases in strength, there is also an
increase in the EPSP strength necessary to generate a suprathreshold
response to the first pulse.
Simulation of interval selectivity
We were next interested in determining whether the Ex unit in the
same disynaptic circuit can exhibit interval selectivity depending on
the synaptic weights of different synapses. Figure 4A shows traces from
the excitatory and inhibitory units for three different sets of
synaptic strengths. Surprisingly, parallel changes in the strength of
the Input Ex and Input Inh connections produce Ex units that
respond selectively to either 50, 100, or 200 msec intervals. Even
though the time constants of all properties are unchanging, interval
selectivity can occur as a result of the interplay between Ex and Inh
unit activity. With relatively weak inputs to both the excitatory and
inhibitory units (Fig. 4A, red traces), the first
pulse generates a suprathreshold and subthreshold response in the Inh
and Ex units, respectively. At 50 msec the second pulse is
suprathreshold in the Ex unit (although it is riding a slow IPSP
elicited by the first spike in the Inh unit), because of PPF which
peaks at 50 msec. The second pulse, at any interval, did not generate a
fast IPSP because the Inh unit did not fire because of the
GABAB-mediated slow IPSP. If the strength of both
inputs is increased (green traces), the Ex unit fires
exclusively to the 100 msec pulse. It no longer fires to the 50 msec
pulse because as a result of the increased input the Inh unit fires in
response to the second pulse at 50 msec. Because of the faster flow of
activity through the inhibitory part of the circuit, the fast IPSP can
cut off the EPSP in the Ex unit, preventing it from firing. If we
continue to increase the strength of both inputs (blue
traces) through a similar mechanism, the Ex unit fires exclusively
to the 200 msec interpulse interval (IPI). Note that the faster
flow of activity through the inhibitory branch is observed
experimentally and is likely attributable to: (1) the faster membrane
time constant of inhibitory neurons (Brown et al., 1981 ; McCormick et
al., 1985 ; Lacaille et al., 1987 ); (2) the threshold of inhibitory
neurons seems to be lower than that of excitatory neurons; and (3)
inhibitory synapses tend to connect closer to the cell soma than
excitatory synapses (Beaulieu et al., 1992 ).

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Figure 4.
A, Simulation of interval
selectivity. The top and bottom traces
represent the output of the Ex and Inh unit, respectively, in response
to three intervals of 50, 100, and 200 msec. The responses to each
interval are overlaid. Depending on the strength of the connections
onto the Ex and Inh units, the Ex unit can respond selectively to 50 (red), 100 (green), or 200 (blue) msec intervals. B, Parametric
analysis of synapse space and interval selectivity displayed as an RGB
plot. As color-coded in A, red represents
regions of synapse space in which the Ex unit fires exclusively to the
second pulse of a 50 msec IPI, but not to the 100 or 200 msec IPI,
i.e., a 50 msec interval detector. Similarly, green and
dark blue areas represent regions of synapse space in
which the Ex units respond only to the 100 or 200 msec interval,
respectively. In the same manner that a computer screen makes yellow by
mixing red and green, yellow in this RGB represents
conditions in which the Ex unit responded to both 50 and 100 msec
intervals, but not the 200 msec interval. White areas
represent regions that respond to all the intervals, but not to the
first pulse. The general scheme is represented in the color cube to the
right. Black areas represent regions in
which the cell was not interval-selective: not firing at all or in
response to the first pulse. The three unfilled white
squares show the areas of synapse space of the traces in
A. The other synaptic weights were GABAA Ex = 150 nS; GABAB Ex = 4 nS;
GABAB Inh = 6 nS. The color changes in the
bottom left corner reflect a more nonlinear region of
synapse space corresponding to an area in which the strength of the
Input Inh synapse is still subthreshold to the first pulse but not
to the second pulses.
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Figure 4B represents a parametric analysis of the
interval selectivity described above in synapse space. The strength of
the Input Ex and Input Inh were varied over a range of weights. The results are represented as a red-green-blue (RGB) plot,
which permits visualization of the selectivity to the three intervals while varying two dimensions. Red, green, and dark blue represent regions in which the Ex unit fires exclusively to 50, 100, and 200 msec
IPI, respectively (note that interval selectivity implies that the Ex
unit responds only to the second pulse of a given interval). Responses
to combinations of intervals are represented by the appropriate
secondary colors; for example, yellow represents regions in which the
Ex unit responds to both 50 and 100 msec intervals (see Fig. 4,
legend). The plot illustrates that by varying two synaptic strengths,
it is possible to generate selective responses to either the 50, 100, or 200 msec intervals or combinations of these intervals and shows that
these regions are fairly robust, operating over a significant range of
synaptic strength. Furthermore, cells can respond to specific
combinations of intervals (light blue, yellow, and white). We have also
examined the difference between increases in the Input Inh weights
and the Inh Ex weights. Both will tend to increase the degree of
inhibition in the Ex unit. Is one more or less effective in controlling
interval selectivity? As shown in Figure 4B, within a
limited range interval tuning was approximately linearly related to
Input Ex and Input Inh strength. In contrast, whereas parallel
changes in the Inh Ex and Input Ex strengths also resulted in
selective responses to each interval, selectivity occurred in a much
smaller region of synapse space and was a more complex function of
synaptic strength (data not shown).
Interval discrimination in large networks
The above results show that simple disynaptic circuits can exhibit
interval selectivity. However, this selectivity required fine tuning of
multiple synaptic weights. It seems unlikely that there are learning
rules that would allow the appropriate combinations of weights to
emerge in a self-organizing manner. We next examined whether a large
network with randomly assigned synaptic weights is able to discriminate
a range of intervals. A network with 400 Ex and 100 Inh units was
simulated, connectivity between units was randomly assigned with a
uniform distribution (synapses between any two units are equiprobable).
The weights of each synapse type were assigned from a normal
distribution (see Materials and Methods). Figure
5 shows the raster plot of a sample of Ex
and Inh units in response to five intervals. Although some units
exhibited selective responses to a particular interval, the majority
were either interval-sensitive (responded maximally to two or more
intervals) or nonselective. Does the population of Ex units as a whole
contain sufficient information to discriminate among a range of
intervals? Note that if a population code is present, the network may
discriminate among intervals even though no single unit is exclusively
selective to each interval. To determine both the ability of the
network to discriminate intervals as well as how it generalizes we used an independent recognition network. The recognition network was composed of five output units and 400 input units (each representing the number of spikes in an Ex unit in response to the presentation of a
given interval). The network was trained on 12 presentations of the
five target intervals (50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 msec) and tested on
another series of 12 simulations, covering 12 different intervals
(25-300 msec at 25 msec increments) to analyze generalization.

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Figure 5.
Raster plot of a sample of Ex and Inh units in
response to five different intervals. The plots in response to the five
different intervals are overlaid on top of each other. Overall the
number of spikes in response to each pulse was between 0 and 3. Some of
the units shown were interval-selective (e.g., topmost
traces), whereas most either exhibited some preference for short
intervals or were nonselective.
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Figure 6A shows the
response of the output units to the test stimuli. The results show that
the population of Ex units as a whole codes well for a wide range of
intervals. This population code can be easily read-out by the set of
five output neurons trained with a supervised learning rule. The output
units responded well to their target intervals and not to the remaining
trained intervals. Importantly, each output unit generalized in
Gaussian fashion to the untrained intervals. That is, the output unit
trained at 150 msec, responded maximally to the 150 msec interval of
the test set, and responded submaximally to 125 and 175 msec intervals, and not at all to 75 and 225 msec intervals.

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Figure 6.
Interval discrimination with different levels of
noise. Each plot shows the response of five outputs units, after
training each output unit to one of five target intervals: 50, 100, 150, 200, and 250 msec (dashed lines). Novel stimuli
representing intervals from 25 to 300 msec were used to test interval
discrimination and generalization. Simulations were performed with
three different levels of noise injected continuously into all the Ex
and Inh units of the network. The rms of the voltage of the Ex unit was
A, 0 mV; B, 1.4 mV; and C,
4 mV.
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The results shown in Figure 6A were obtained in the
absence of noise. Figure 6, B and C, shows the
results of simulations in the presence of noise in all the Ex and Inh
units. The rms of the resting membrane potential of Ex units was 1.4 and 4 mV in Figure 6, B and C, respectively. A
rms of 1.4 mV had little overall effect on interval discrimination,
whereas a rms of 4 mV produced a significant decrease in performance,
particularly for the intermediate intervals. Other sources of noise
such as probability of release were not examined. The effects of
"synaptic noise" will be dependent on assumptions about
pr, the number of "release sites", and the
number of synapses. However, within a range, different sources of noise
are likely to have similar effects because they are all ultimately
expressed in the variability of the membrane potential from trial to trial.
Structure of the population code
The results shown above establish that the Ex units form a
population code, which can be used by output units to discriminate intervals. The fine interval tuning of the output units could be
attributable to either broad or fine tuning of the Ex units driving the
output units. Figure 7 shows the synaptic
weights of the Ex units onto the output units (Fig. 7A) and
the corresponding interval tuning of the Ex units (Fig. 7B).
As shown by comparing panels A and B, the output
units use input from a large population of Ex cells with different
tuning characteristics. At short intervals there is a significant
number of interval-selective Ex units that drive the appropriate output
unit. Fewer Ex units are selective for longer intervals, thus the 250 msec output unit is driven by excitatory input from a range of broadly
tuned Ex units and inhibited by Ex units tuned for shorter intervals.
Interestingly, despite the inputs to the output units consisting of a
mixture of selective to nonselective cells, the tuning curves exhibit smooth generalization.

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Figure 7.
A, Synaptic weights of all the Ex
units onto the five output units from the simulations shown in Figure
6. Ex units are ordered according to which Output unit their strongest
synapse is on, and then subordered by ascending synaptic strength.
B, Interval tuning curves of the same Ex units shown in
A. Interval tuning curves are made by counting the
number of spikes in response to the second pulse at each interval and
normalizing to the maximal response. All the units with preferred
responses that were not to the first pulse are shown. Note a
significant number of Ex units tuned to short intervals and broader
tuning to longer intervals. The strategy of the output units was to
receive strong excitatory input from the Ex units that respond
selectively to the target interval and to receive strong inhibition
from the units that responded to intervals shorter than the target
interval.
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What accounts for the diversity of the temporal selectivity of the Ex
units given that the time constants of the short-term plasticity and
slow IPSPs are the same for all synapses? For the small disynaptic
circuits it was shown that temporal selectivity was a function of the
synaptic weights (Fig. 4B). In the large network it
is was the variability in the synaptic strengths that allowed for
variations in the temporal tuning of the Ex units. If all the synaptic
weights are assigned using a variance of zero, no interval
discrimination occurs, because there is no symmetry breaking (data not
shown). In other words, all Ex units will essentially exhibit the same
temporal selectivity and behave much like the disynaptic circuit. Thus,
the model is in many ways stochastic: it relies not on a specific set
of synaptic strengths but on a distribution of different synaptic
strengths that will result in a distribution of different types of
temporal tuning.
It should be noted that because of the complexity of the large network,
additional factors not present in the simple disynaptic circuit further
enrich the temporal selectivity of the Ex units. First, in the
simplified circuit with only one synapse of each type, the synaptic
strength defined the "functional synaptic strength." In a large
network, the effective strength of each synapse class is not determined
only by the weight of a synapse, but buy a complex interaction
dependent on which and when a set of synapses is active. (2) Lateral
connectivity in the form of Ex Ex and Ex Inh synapses, absent
in the disynaptic circuits, were present in the large network, further
enhancing the complexity and variability in the temporal selectivity of the Ex units.
Dependency of interval discrimination on different
temporal properties
The simulations above indicate that neural networks that
incorporate short-term forms of plasticity and slow IPSPs can generate a population code for a spectrum of intervals. What the simulations have not addressed is the relative contribution of the different properties. Analyzing the performance of the network by simply removing
these properties can generate confounding results, because the overall
level of activation can change dramatically. We thus chose to
"flatten" the profile of short-term plasticity and the slow IPSPs.
Under these conditions, PPF, PPD, and the slow IPSP are still present
and thus, there are not dramatic changes in the overall activity of the
network. However, rather than changing through time, and thus
continuously altering the state of the network, these properties did
not change 20 msec after their initial onset. Thus, PPF was present,
but the degree of facilitation was the same whether the interval was 50 or 400 msec. These manipulations allowed us to directly determine the
relative contribution of different time-dependent properties and
confirm that it is the continuous change in short-term plasticity and
slow IPSPs that underlies the ability of the network to discriminate
temporal intervals.
These simulations also examined a broader range of intervals: the
target intervals were 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 msec. The test
intervals ranged from 25 to 450 msec at 25 msec steps. Figure 8 shows the response of the output units
under four different conditions: control (A); flat
GABAB-dependent properties (PPD of IPSPs and slow
IPSPs) (B); flat PPF of EPSPs (C);
and no PPF and no GABAB-dependent properties
(D). As expected, each form of short-term plasticity
contributed differentially to interval discrimination. In the absence
of changing PPD and slow IPSPs, the network discriminated intervals up
to 200 msec almost as well as the control condition. However,
discrimination of longer intervals was not possible. Thus the
time-dependent changes in network state produced by PPF alone were
sufficient to effect the population response for short but not long
intervals. Interestingly, flattening PPF still allowed a reasonable
degree of interval-selective responses but tended to result in the
emergence of bimodal responses centered around 150 msec. Note that the
output unit trained at 100 msec could easily discriminate between 100 and 200 msec, but not as well between 100 and 250 msec (Fig.
8C). This behavior occurs because the magnitude of the
GABAB-dependent properties are similar at 100 and
250 msec during their rising and decaying phases, respectively. In
other words, there is some symmetry around the peak: the state of the
network is similar during the rising and decaying phases of the
GABAB-dependent events. Figure
8D shows that in the absence of time-dependent
properties, interval discrimination is essentially abolished. The
membrane and synaptic time constants influence the state of the network
at intervals up to 50 msec, allowing some discrimination between a 50 msec interval and longer intervals. However, note that the response to
25 msec was stronger that that to 50 msec, even though the latter was
the target interval.

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Figure 8.
Simulation of interval discrimination with altered
time-dependent properties. In these simulations the target intervals
were 50, 100, 200, 300, and 400 msec (dashed lines).
A, Control results with the same parameters used in
Figure 6. B, Flattened slow IPSPs and PPD. In these
simulations GABAB-dependent properties were flat 20 msec
after activation, whereas PPF of EPSPs remained normal.
C, Flattened PPF. D, No PPF and no
GABAB-dependent properties.
|
|
We also examined interval discrimination after removing PPF of the
Input Ex synapses or PPD of the inhibitory synapses or the slow
IPSPs. Under each of these conditions the network still performed well
(data not shown), but was not as robust in the presence of noise, nor
were the peaks of the output responses as high.
Discrimination of simple sequences
We next examined the ability of the network to discriminate simple
sequences. Sequence discrimination is an important test if a model is
to be a general mechanism for temporal processing, because it requires
sensitivity to higher-order temporal features. The network was
presented with four stimuli defined by their interpulse intervals:
50-150, 100-100, and 150-50. Note that the first and third sequences
contain the same intervals, but in a different order. Each stimulus was
presented to the same network used above (with all the same parameters)
24 times. Activity patterns from 12 presentations were used for
training the Output units, whereas 12 were used for testing. The
recognition network was trained on the number of spikes of each Ex unit
generated by the last pulse. Note, that in some sense a
priori knowledge was used by telling the network which pulse was
the last (however, training the total activity across all pulses
generated similar results). Figure
9A shows the average response
of the three output units. The output units were able to discriminate
among the three different sequences. No Ex units were strongly
selective to any of the three stimuli (data not shown). Thus, the
output units relied on the stimulus sensitivity of a large population
of Ex units. To understand what population of Ex units are active in
response to each pulse, we can plot the activity of each output unit
during each sequence (Fig. 9B). The activity plotted is
simply the activity of all Ex units multiplied by the weight of the Ex
Output connection. Thus, the magnitude of the response to the
different pulses reflects the overlap between the Ex units driving the
maximal response (last pulse of the target sequence). Note that some of
the responses have an early excitatory peak followed by inhibition. In
general the early responses (short-latency spikes) carry less
information about the sequence. This is in part because the early
responses (generally driven by functionally stronger connections) are
less sensitive to the time-dependent changes in the
excitatory-inhibitory balances. This may suggest that early responses
carry spatial information, whereas late responses tend to carry more
temporal information.

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Figure 9.
Discrimination of simple sequences.
A, Average responses of the Output units trained on each
stimulus to novel presentations of the three stimuli shown above.
B, To understand how the output units perform sequence
discrimination, we have plotted the activity of each output unit in
response to each sequence. The activity plotted is simply the activity
of all Ex units multiplied by the weight of the Ex Ouput connection
(and an RC time constant of 20 msec). Thus, the degree of the response
to the different pulses reflects the overlap between the maximal
response (last pulse of the target sequence). Distribution of the
information content of all Ex units around the stimulus set.
|
|
Unlike most models based on delay lines or specific time constants, in
this model sequence discrimination is a natural extension of interval
discrimination. Interval discrimination is ultimately possible because
of differences in the state of the network at the arrival of the first
and second pulse. Because at no point is the network "reset",
changes are cumulative. Consider stimulus 2 of Figure 9A
(100-100). The intervals between the first and second and second and
third pulses are the same, nevertheless, the second and third pulses
still arrive in different network states. For example, the slow IPSP
(onto both Ex and Inh units) produced by the second pulse will still
sum with the slow IPSP from the first pulse. As the number of pulses
increases a steady-state should be reached, and the differences in the
population response will eventually be too small to allow
discrimination. We have not yet examined at what point this occurs, in
part because relatively little psychophysical data are available on the
interaction between sequence size and discrimination. Furthermore, it
is clear that performance is highly dependent on the size and number of
layers of the network.
 |
DISCUSSION |
The results described here show that a large network of
interconnected Ex and Inh units can perform both interval and sequence discrimination. This ability relies on the presence of time-dependent properties (short-term plasticity and slow IPSPs) and variability in
the assigned synaptic weights. The model is stochastic in that a random
distribution of synaptic strengths is sufficient to generate a range of
temporal response characteristics for each unit. Together these units
can establish a population code that allows discrimination over a wide
range of intervals. By studying small disynaptic circuits, we were able
to show how temporal tuning can be determined by synaptic strength.
Specifically, the interaction between synaptic strength and
time-dependent properties will shape the response characteristics of
both the Ex and Inh units. The temporal tuning of the Ex unit is
further controlled by the fast inhibition generated by the Inh
unit tuning. Together these mechanisms can generate a range of
different temporal filters in the Ex unit, ranging from selective to
nonselective (Fig. 4B).
Interval versus sequence discrimination
Various models have been proposed to account for
interval-selective neuronal responses. One of the first models of
interval detection was the delay line model based on axonal conduction delays. This model accounts for the detection of interaural delays in
the range of tens to hundreds of microseconds used for sound localization (Jeffress, 1948 ; Carr, 1993 ). However, despite early proposals that parallel fibers in the cerebellum may function as delay
lines (Braitenberg, 1967 ), there is no experimental data supporting
axonal delays in the millisecond range. However, many of the more
recent models follow similar principles, in that they are labeled line
models. Selectivity generally relies on establishing a range of
different time constants for some time-dependent mechanisms. These
could include neurons oscillating at different frequencies (Miall,
1989 ), a range of biochemical time constants (Fiala et al., 1996 ), or
IPSPs of different durations (Sullivan, 1982 ; Olsen and Suga, 1991 ).
There is experimental data supporting the latter mechanism in
subcortical areas used for pulse-echo detection intervals in the bat
(Sullivan, 1982 ; Olsen and Suga, 1991 ; Saitoh and Suga, 1995 ). This
mechanism is well suited to solve the temporal requirements for
echolocation, which is a relatively specialized problem, in that the
timing is always determined by two events (pulse and echo), separated
by a few milliseconds.
It is fundamental to determine whether labeled line models generalize
to more complex temporal patterns that are common in auditory stimuli
such a speech and animal vocalizations. Generally speaking, most models
based on a range of different time constants do not inherently account
for discrimination of simple sequences. Consider interval or duration
detection based on the duration of IPSPs (Sullivan, 1982 ; Olsen and
Suga, 1991 ; Casseday et al., 1994 ; Saitoh and Suga, 1995 ). In such
models the first event triggers a rapid excitatory potential and a
slower inhibitory potential followed by an excitatory rebound (Fig.
10A). The excitatory
potential by itself is not capable of eliciting a suprathreshold
response, but when a second event generates an excitatory potential
that adds with the offset of inhibition (excitatory rebound), a
suprathreshold response occurs. Thus, the duration of the IPSP
determines the preferred interval of the neuron, and by having a range
of IPSP durations it is possible to cover a spectrum of different
intervals. Such a system is not well suited to discriminate simple
sequences such as those shown in Figure 9. Consider two sequences:
100-200 and 200-100, both will activate the 100 and 200 msec
detectors, although in a different order (Fig. 10B).
Thus, sequence discrimination would require a second step involving
order discrimination, itself a type of temporal discrimination (the
addition of a 300 msec detector can solve this problem). More important
is the issue of biological implementation. The activation of both the
100 and 200 msec detectors assumes a "reset" mechanism. If the 200 msec interval detector receives a pulse after 100 msec, it must reset so that it can respond to the subsequent 200 msec interval. Such a
reset mechanism is not physiologically plausible if it relies on IPSPs,
thus in reality it is unlikely that the second interval will activate
the appropriate detector. Although modifications can be made to this
model to overcome these problems, it seems likely that such a system
may have evolved specifically for the detection of intervals and
durations under specific conditions, rather than the discrimination of
arbitrary temporal patterns.

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Figure 10.
Illustration of a labeled-line model.
A, Each event produces short-lasting excitation and
long-lasting inhibition followed by rebound excitation. Neither the
excitation nor rebound from inhibition is capable of eliciting a
suprathreshold response. If excitation from a second event coincides
with rebound from the first event, threshold is reached. By adjusting
the duration of inhibition (or equivalently the strength) it is
possible to have labeled lines for a range of intervals.
B, In the case of two stimuli composed of sequence of
three pulses (each composed of a 100 and 200 msec interval), both
stimuli will activate the same interval detectors, albeit in a
different order. Thus, sequence discrimination will require subsequent
order discrimination. One problem this type of model has with sequence
discrimination is that for the appropriate labeled-line to detect the
second interval, each pulse would have to "reset" the interval
detector (dashed lines).
|
|
For sequence discrimination the model described here relied on a
population code. More so than for interval discrimination, population
codes for sequences are desirable given the large number of potential
sequences. In the large network the Ex units implemented a temporal to
spatial transformation and represented a given temporal pattern in a
population code, which in principle can be used downstream (in our case
by the output units) like any other population code. To implement the
temporal to spatial transformation, the network relies on
state-dependent changes in the network as a result of time-dependent
properties extending well from intervals to simple sequences.
This is because each pulse induces cumulative changes in the state of
the network, and thus in the population response, each pulse
establishes a "context." The disadvantage of this model is that it
will have difficulty identifying specific intervals embedded in
sequences. If the network is trained to identify a 100 msec interval,
and then the 100 msec pulse is inserted within a larger sequence (or
simply preceded by another pulse), the network may not identify it. In
contrast, some labeled line models will detect a 100 msec interval
placed anywhere in a circuit but will not capture the overall pattern.
Thus, a psychophysical prediction from the current model is that
interval discrimination should be more impaired by the presence of a
distractor (a stimulus that precedes the target stimulus) than a
nontemporal task such as frequency or intensity discrimination.
Short-term synaptic plasticity
In the current model two forms of short-term synaptic plasticity
were simulated: PPF of EPSPs (on to both excitatory and inhibitory units) and PPD of IPSPs. PPF of excitatory synapses is not seen in all
synapses, but is dependent on various factors including the presynaptic
and postsynaptic cell types and developmental stage. Short-term
facilitation is generally observed in Ex Inh connections (Thomson
et al., 1993 ; Markram et al., 1998 ; Reyes et al., 1998 ). Both PPF and
PPD are observed in Ex Ex connections. In the hippocampus,
short-term facilitation is seen both in the mossy fiber to CA3 synapses
(Zalutzky and Nicoll, 1990 ; Salin et al., 1996 ) and the Schaffer
collateral to CA1 synapses (Creager et al., 1980 ; Manabe et al., 1993 ;
Buonomano and Merzenich, 1996 ). In neocortical synapses, both PPF
(Ramoa and Sur, 1996 ; Stratford et al., 1996 ; Reyes and Sakmann, 1998 )
and PPD (Thomson and Deuchars, 1994 ; Markram et al. , 1996;
Stratford et al., 1996 ) are observed, although depression is more
common. Stratford et al. (1996) have shown that different Ex Ex
synapses vary as to the type of short-term plasticity observed.
Specifically, in the visual cortex, thalamocortical to L-IV synapses
exhibit PPD; the L-VI L-IV projection exhibits PPF, and L-IV L-IV synapses exhibit little paired-pulse plasticity. Gil et al.
(1997) also report paired-pulse plasticity differences between
different synapses in the rat somatosensory cortex. Reyes and Sakmann
(1998) have reported that synapses between L-II/III pyramidal neurons
exhibit PPD early in development and PPF later in development.
Additionally, the dependency of short-term plasticity on the synapse
type suggests that it has multiple functional roles. Indeed, in
addition to the role of short-term forms of plasticity in temporal
processing suggested here and previously (Buonomano and Merzenich,
1995 ; Buonomano et al., 1997 ), it has also been suggested that
short-term plasticity may provide a mechanism for "on-line"
modulation in certain types of behaviors (Fisher et al., 1997 ). Others
have suggested that short-term depression between excitatory cortical
neurons may play a role in gain control, by amplifying transient
changes in firing rates (Abbott et al., 1997 ) and maintaining the
stability of cortical circuits by keeping positive feedback in check
(Galarreta and Hestrin, 1998 ).
The presence of facilitating excitatory synapses is an important
component of the model described here. However, in the large network in
the absence of facilitation onto Ex units, interval discrimination was
still observed. Even in the presence of depressing EPSPs it is
ultimately the net balance between short-term plasticity of EPSPs on Ex
and Inh units and of IPSPs that will determine the ability of the
network to process temporal information. Furthermore, in cortical areas
where depression predominates, there seems to be a significant amount
of facilitating (low probability of release) synapses, because
activity-dependent antagonists reveal that a subpopulation of synapses
exhibit PPF (Gil et al., 1999 ).
Centralized versus distributed temporal processing
A fundamental question regarding the mechanisms underlying
temporal processing on the millisecond time scale is whether timing is
performed by some specialized central time-keeping system or distributed throughout different brain regions. The most common view of
a centralized mechanism is the internal clock hypothesis (Creelman,
1962 ; Treisman, 1963 ). In such models a temporal problem in the visual
or auditory modality, or even a timed motor behavior, would access the
same "internal clock." Studies of patients with cerebellar (Ivry
and Keele, 1989 ), parietal cortex (Harrington et al., 1998a ),
and basal ganglia lesions (Harrington et al., 1998b ) have all reported
deficits in temporal processing, often in both sensory and motor tasks.
These studies are generally interpreted to favor centralized timing
mechanisms. Additionally, very specific effects on the timing of
conditioned motor responses in rabbits have been reported to result
from lesions to the cerebellar cortex (Perrett et al., 1993 ).
Psychophysical studies of interval discrimination have provided some
support for centralized mechanisms by showing cross-channel or
cross-modality generalization of interval learning (Wright et al.,
1997 ; Nagarajan et al., 1998 ). However, these studies were not designed
to selectively engage channel-specific learning.
In contrast to centralized models, distributed models argue that
temporal information is processed on an "as needed" basis, occurring in auditory, visual, association, or motor areas depending on
the task. The mechanisms underlying temporal processing in either
distributed or centralized systems could include delay lines
(Braitenberg, 1967 ; Tank and Hopfield, 1987 ), oscillators (Miall, 1989 ; Ahissar et al., 1997 ), network dynamics (Buonomano and
Mauk, 1994 ; Mauk and Donegan, 1997 ), or short-term synaptic plasticity
(Buonomano and Merzenich, 1995 ). Given the pervasiveness of temporal
information in external stimuli and the generality of the
time-dependent mechanisms studied in the current paper, we favor
distributed models of temporal processing on the scale of tens to
hundreds of milliseconds.
Conclusions
In the current paper, it is suggested that networks of neurons are
intrinsically capable of decoding temporal information as a result of
time-dependent changes in network state produced by short-term forms of
plasticity. Specifically, short-term plasticity and other
time-dependent properties change the dynamic balance between excitation
and inhibition in local circuits producing neuronal response
characteristics that are dependent on previous activity and thus,
temporal stimulus history. The hypothesis presented predicts that
manipulations that eliminate short-term forms of plasticity will
produce deficits in temporal processing. The deficits should be
specific to the time scale of the neuronal and synaptic mechanisms
being manipulated.
 |
FOOTNOTES |
Received April 20, 1999; revised Nov. 8, 1999; accepted Nov. 8, 1999.
This work was supported by Office of Naval Research Grant
N00014-96-1-0206 and the Alfred P. Sloan Foundation. I thank Michael Merzenich for helpful discussions and advice and Allison Doupe, Randy
Gallistel, Peter Latham, Uma Karmarkar, and Felix Schweizer for reading
earlier versions of this manuscript.
Correspondence should be addressed to Dean V. Buonomano, Department of
Neurobiology and Psychology, University of California-Los Angeles, Box
951763, Los Angeles, CA 90095. E-mail: dbuono{at}ucla.edu.
 |
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