Article abstract

Nature Neuroscience 11, 318 - 326 (2008)
Published online: 27 January 2008 | Corrected online: 17 February 2008 | doi:10.1038/nn2045

Signals and noise in an inhibitory interneuron diverge to control activity in nearby retinal ganglion cells

Gabe J Murphy1 & Fred Rieke1

Information about sensory stimuli is represented by spatiotemporal patterns of neural activity. The complexity of the central nervous system, however, frequently obscures the origin and properties of signals and noise that underlie these activity patterns. We minimized this constraint by examining mechanisms governing correlated activity in mouse retinal ganglion cells (RGCs) under conditions in which light-evoked responses traverse a specific circuit, the rod bipolar pathway. Signals and noise in this circuit produced correlated synaptic input to neighboring On and Off RGCs. Temporal modulation of light intensity did not alter the degree to which noise in the input to nearby RGCs was correlated, and action potential generation in individual RGCs was largely insensitive to differences in network noise generated by dynamic and static light stimuli. Together, these features enable noise in shared circuitry to diminish simultaneous action potential generation in neighboring On and Off RGCs under a variety of conditions.

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  1. Howard Hughes Medical Institute and Department of Physiology & Biophysics, University of Washington, 1705 NE Pacific Street, HSB J187, Box 357290, Seattle, Washington 98195-7290, USA.

Correspondence to: Gabe J Murphy1 e-mail: gjmurphy@u.washington.edu

* In the version of this article initially published online, the equation in the Methods section was incorrect. The correct equation is shown. The error has been corrected for all versions of the article.

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