TEMPORAL CODING IN VISION - CODING BY THE SPIKE ARRIVAL TIMES LEADS TO OSCILLATIONS IN THE CASE OF MOVING TARGETS

The 'oscillations' which have been observed in the visual cortex of ca ts and monkeys in the case of moving targets are discussed in relation to a temporal coding based on the arrival times of spikes or bursts. A decoding process for this temporal coding is proposed in which neuro ns work in a correlator mode. In the case of motion analysis, periodic resetting is needed to avoid information jamming. This resetting is p roposed to be responsible for the 'oscillations'. Good initial synchro nization is required for the decoding process to be performed efficien tly. A diffusive process based on interdendritic ionic currents is pro posed and shown to operate efficiently, without any loss of spatial an d temporal resolving powers.