A comparative analysis of integrating visual information in local neuronal ensembles

Abstract

Spike directivity, a new measure that quantifies the transient charge density dynamics within action potentials provides better results in discriminating different categories of visual object recognition. Specifically, intracranial recordings from medial temporal lobe (MTL) of epileptic patients have been analyzed using firing rate, interspike intervals and spike directivity. A comparative statistical analysis of the same spikes from a local ensemble of four selected neurons shows that electrical patterns in these neurons display higher separability to input images compared to spike timing features. If the observation vector includes data from all four neurons then the comparative analysis shows a highly significant separation between categories for spike directivity (p = 0.0023) and does not display separability for interspike interval (p = 0.3768) and firing rate (p = 0.5492). Since electrical patterns in neuronal spikes provide information regarding different presented objects this result shows that related information is intracellularly processed in neurons and carried out within a millisecond-level time domain of action potential occurrence. This significant statistical outcome obtained from a local ensemble of four neurons suggests that meaningful information can be electrically inferred at the network level to generate a better discrimination of presented images.

Biofield physiology: A Framework for an emerging discipline

“…At a functional level, the electromagnetic activity of neural assemblies has been proposed to modulate neuron synchronization 71 and circadian rhythmicity 72 and to underlie the computational and cognitive processes of the brain. 73 , 74 More specifically, weak sinusoidal electric fields appear to enhance and entrain physiological neocortical network activity. 75 Thus, in a feedback loop, the local fields help to synchronize the neural network that generates them.…”