Department of Cellular and Molecular Medicine, University of Ottawa, Canada.
Curr Opin Neurobiol. 2012 Aug;22(4):686-92. doi: 10.1016/j.conb.2012.01.009. Epub 2012 Feb 10.
Neural codes often seem tailored to the type of information they must carry. Here we contrast the encoding strategies for two different communication signals in electric fish and describe the underlying cellular and network properties that implement them. We compare an aggressive signal that needs to be quickly detected, to a courtship signal whose quality needs to be evaluated. The aggressive signal is encoded by synchronized bursts and a predictive feedback input is crucial in separating background noise from the communication signal. The courtship signal is accurately encoded through a heterogenous population response allowing the discrimination of signal differences. Most importantly we show that the same strategies are used in other systems arguing that they evolved similar solutions because they faced similar tasks.
神经代码似乎常常针对它们必须携带的信息类型进行了调整。在这里，我们对比了电鱼中两种不同通讯信号的编码策略，并描述了实现这些信号的基础细胞和网络特性。我们比较了一种需要快速检测的攻击性信号，以及一种需要评估质量的求爱信号。攻击性信号是通过同步爆发进行编码的，而预测性反馈输入对于将背景噪声与通讯信号区分开来至关重要。求爱信号则通过异质的群体反应进行精确编码，从而能够区分信号差异。最重要的是，我们表明这些相同的策略在其他系统中也得到了应用，这表明它们是因为面临类似的任务而进化出了类似的解决方案。
