Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Change the neural code, change the message

Nature Neuroscience volume 18, pages 4–6 (2015)Cite this article

Subjects

The retina encodes visual information and sends it to the brain. We now learn that this neural code varies strongly with light adaptation. Does this mean a change in the message or a change in the way that the message is coded?

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on Springer Link
  • Instant access to full article PDF
Buy now

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Retinal coding changes dramatically with light levels.

References

  1. Szikra, T. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 17, 1728–1735 (2014).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Tikidji-Hamburyan, A. et al. Nat. Neurosci. 17, 66–74 (2015).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  3. Baylor, D.A., Fuortes, M.G.F. & O'Bryan, P.M. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 214, 265 (1971).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. O'Bryan, P.M. J. Physiol. (Lond.) 235, 207–223 (1973).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  5. Piccolino, M., Neyton, J. & Gerschenfeld, H.M. J. Neurophysiol. 45, 363–375 (1981).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Verweij, J., Kamermans, M. & Spekreijse, H. Vision Res. 36, 3943–3953 (1996).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Thoreson, W.B. & Burkhardt, D.A. Vis. Neurosci. 5, 571–583 (1990).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  8. Kamermans, M., et al. Science 292, 1178–1180 (2001).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  9. Hirasawa, H. & Kaneko, A. J. Gen. Physiol. 122, 657–671 (2003).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  10. Vroman, R. et al. PLoS Biol. 12, e1001864 (2014).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  11. Atick, J.J., Li, Z. & Redlich, A.N. Vision Res. 4, 559 (1992).

    Google Scholar 

  12. Srinivasan, M.V., Laughlin, S.B. & Dubs, A. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 216, 427–459 (1982).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  13. Sagdullaev, B.T. & McCall, M.A. Vis. Neurosci. 22, 649–659 (2005).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Shapley, R.M. & Enroth-Cugell, C. Prog. Retinal Res. 3, 263 (1984).

    Article  Google Scholar 

  15. Buchsbaum, G. & Gottschalk, A. Proc. R. Soc. Lond. B Biol. Sci. 220, 89–113 (1983).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Maarten Kamermans is in the Retinal Signal Processing Laboratory, Netherlands Institute for Neuroscience, Amsterdam, the Netherlands.,

    Maarten Kamermans

Authors
  1. Maarten Kamermans
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Maarten Kamermans.

Ethics declarations

Competing interests

The author declares no competing financial interests.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Kamermans, M. Change the neural code, change the message. Nat Neurosci 18, 4–6 (2015). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3899

Download citation

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn.3899

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing