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Updated: Jun 14, 2026
08:48
Optical Recording of Suprathreshold Neural Activity with Single-cell and Single-spike Resolution
Published on: September 5, 2012
Conversion of phase information into a spike-count code by bursting neurons
Inés Samengo1, Marcelo A Montemurro
1Centro Atómico Bariloche and Instituto Balseiro, San Carlos de Bariloche, Argentina.
Plos One
|March 20, 2010
Summary
Cortical neurons process external world information using both firing rate and local field potential (LFP) phase. Bursting neurons can translate LFP phase into spike counts, providing a decodable code.
Area of Science:
- Neuroscience
- Computational Neuroscience
- Computational Biology
Background:
- The cerebral cortex processes information using neuronal firing rates and local field potentials (LFPs).
- LFP phase at spike generation encodes external world information beyond firing rate alone.
- A biological mechanism for processing LFP phase information is currently lacking.
Purpose of the Study:
- Investigate a biologically plausible mechanism for processing LFP phase information.
- Determine if bursting neurons can translate LFP phase into a decodable code.
Main Methods:
- Simulated a bursting pyramidal neuron model.
- Applied time-dependent stimuli with varying LFP phase.
- Analyzed the relationship between input phase and spike count per burst.
Main Results:
- The number of spikes per burst systematically varied with the input LFP phase at burst onset.
- This phase-to-spike count mapping was robust across various stimulus statistics.
- Demonstrated a consistent relationship between LFP phase and neuronal output.
Conclusions:
- Cortical bursting neurons can translate LFP phase information into a spike count code.
- This mechanism provides a way for the nervous system to process LFP phase.
- Suggests a crucial role for bursting neurons in neural computation.
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