scholarly journals Randomness of spontaneous activity and information transfer in neurons

2008 ◽  
pp. S133-S138
Author(s):  
L Košťál ◽  
P Lánský
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Neuronal Activity ◽  
Coefficient Of Variation ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Neurons ◽  
Information Coding ◽  
Receptor Neurons ◽  
Evoked Activity

The analysis of information coding in neurons requires methods that measure different properties of neuronal signals. In this paper we review the recently proposed measure of randomness and compare it to the coefficient of variation, which is the frequently employed measure of variability of spiking neuronal activity. We focus on the problem of the spontaneous activity of neurons, and we hypothesize that under defined conditions, spontaneous activity is more random than evoked activity. This hypothesis is supported by contrasting variability and randomness obtained from experimental recordings of olfactory receptor neurons in rats.

scholarly journals Origin of basal activity in mammalian olfactory receptor neurons

2010 ◽  
Vol 136 (5) ◽  
pp. 529-540 ◽  
Author(s):  
Johannes Reisert
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Information Transfer ◽  
Odorant Receptor ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Neurons ◽  
Odorant Receptors ◽  
Action Potential Firing ◽  
Response Characteristics ◽  
Basal Activity ◽  
Receptor Neurons ◽  
Different Response

Mammalian odorant receptors form a large, diverse group of G protein–coupled receptors that determine the sensitivity and response profile of olfactory receptor neurons. But little is known if odorant receptors control basal and also stimulus-induced cellular properties of olfactory receptor neurons other than ligand specificity. This study demonstrates that different odorant receptors have varying degrees of basal activity, which drives concomitant receptor current fluctuations and basal action potential firing. This basal activity can be suppressed by odorants functioning as inverse agonists. Furthermore, odorant-stimulated olfactory receptor neurons expressing different odorant receptors can have strikingly different response patterns in the later phases of prolonged stimulation. Thus, the influence of odorant receptor choice on response characteristics is much more complex than previously thought, which has important consequences on odor coding and odor information transfer to the brain.

Patterns of spontaneous activity in single rat olfactory receptor neurons are different in normally breathing and tracheotomized animals

2005 ◽  
Vol 65 (2) ◽  
pp. 97-114 ◽  
Author(s):  
Patricia Duchamp-Viret ◽  
Lubomir Kostal ◽  
Michel Chaput ◽  
Petr Lánsky ◽  
Jean-Pierre Rospars
Keyword(s):  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Neurons ◽  
Receptor Neurons

Physiological activity of newly differentiated olfactory receptor neurons correlated with morphological recovery from olfactory nerve section in the salamander

1981 ◽  
Vol 45 (3) ◽  
pp. 529-549 ◽  
Author(s):  
P. A. Simmons ◽  
T. V. Getchell
Keyword(s):  
Olfactory Bulb ◽  
Spontaneous Activity ◽  
Histological Examination ◽  
Olfactory Epithelium ◽  
Olfactory Receptor ◽  
Receptor Cell ◽  
Olfactory Nerve ◽  
Olfactory Receptor Neurons ◽  
Nerve Section ◽  
Receptor Neurons

1. Extracellular unitary recordings were made from the olfactory epithelium of the salamander, Ambystoma tigrinum, at numerous time points following olfactory nerve section. Unitary response properties were correlated with histological examination of the same tissues. 2. At 10 days following nerve section, unitary activity was rarely recorded in all regions of the epithelium. Histological examination indicated that virtually the entire mature olfactory receptor cell population had undergone retrograde degeneration. Transneuronal degeneration was not observed in the olfactory bulb, although the olfactory nerve and glomerular layers were substantially reduced in size. 3. At subsequent times, unitary impulse activity gradually returned, consisting of both spontaneous activity and odor-evoked discharges. Anatomical recovery of the olfactory epithelium preceded that of the olfactory bulb. A positive correlation was found between neuronal differentiation in the olfactory epithelium and the recovery of receptor cell function. 4. Patterns of spontaneous activity, odor specificities, intensity-response functions, and adaptive properties studied in newly differentiated olfactory receptor neurons were indistinguishable from those observed in control units. This indicated that these properties were intrinsic to the receptor neurons. 5. Spontaneously active and responsive units were encountered prior to olfactory nerve connection with the bulb. It is concluded that receptor neurons pass through two phases of functional maturity: the first independent of bulbar contact and the second dependent on presumed synaptic contact with bulbar neurons.

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