IUBio

Neural Coding

Ralph Leonhardt leo at neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
Thu Oct 26 02:40:42 EST 2000


On Tue, 24 Oct 2000, mike wrote:

> Also, i was led to believe that they are 2 different things, despite the
> similarity their name would imply.  Is there a simple difference between
> the two?


Hi Mike,

a rate code averages the spike rate over a certain interval of time,
whereas a time code only considers the interval between two given
spikes. This is a very important distinction, since a time code requires
a precise synchronization of the involved neurons, whereas a rate code is
less vulnerable to stochastic effects concerning the spike timing at the
cost of a lower temporal resolution. 
IMHO the nervous system is using both principles depending on the
requirements of the specific task.

Greetings, Leo

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Ralph Leonhardt (Dipl.-Biol.)			Tel.:	+49 (0)234 322 5559
Inst. f. Neuroinformatik, Geb. ND 04/297	Fax:	+49 (0)234 321 4209
Ruhr-Universitaet-Bochum
D-44780 Bochum, Germany

E-mail: ralph.leonhardt at neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de
URL:    http://www.neuroinformatik.ruhr-uni-bochum.de/PEOPLE/leo/top.html








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