Auditory Stimuli Coding by Postsynaptic Potential and Local Field Potential Features

PLoS One. 2016 Aug 11;11(8):e0160089. doi: 10.1371/journal.pone.0160089. eCollection 2016.

Abstract

The relation between physical stimuli and neurophysiological responses, such as action potentials (spikes) and Local Field Potentials (LFP), has recently been experimented in order to explain how neurons encode auditory information. However, none of these experiments presented analyses with postsynaptic potentials (PSPs). In the present study, we have estimated information values between auditory stimuli and amplitudes/latencies of PSPs and LFPs in anesthetized rats in vivo. To obtain these values, a new method of information estimation was used. This method produced more accurate estimates than those obtained by using the traditional binning method; a fact that was corroborated by simulated data. The traditional binning method could not certainly impart such accuracy even when adjusted by quadratic extrapolation. We found that the information obtained from LFP amplitude variation was significantly greater than the information obtained from PSP amplitude variation. This confirms the fact that LFP reflects the action of many PSPs. Results have shown that the auditory cortex codes more information of stimuli frequency with slow oscillations in groups of neurons than it does with slow oscillations in neurons separately.

MeSH terms

  • Action Potentials / physiology*
  • Animals
  • Auditory Cortex / physiology*
  • Electroencephalography
  • Neurons / cytology
  • Neurons / physiology*
  • Rats
  • Synaptic Potentials / physiology*

Grants and funding

This work was supported by Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (http://www.cnpq.br/), JMA; Coordenação de Aperfeiçoamento de Pessoal de Nível Superior (http://www.capes.gov.br/), MOS; and Conselho Nacional de Desenvolvimento Científico e Tecnológico (http://www.cnpq.br/), contract number 302704/2013-2 (PQ), FMA. The funders had no role in study design, data collection and analysis, decision to publish, or preparation of the manuscript.