A statistical method for correcting distortions of amplitude distribution histograms due to collisions of synaptic events

The waveform of spontaneous synaptic potentials or currents comprising syna ptic noise can be significantly distorted when these events are closely spa ced due to a high frequency activity in the presynaptic inputs that generat e them. It is essential to correct these alterations prior to measurements of overlapping miniature and/or postsynaptic potentials, in order to provid e reliable information about their true amplitude distributions, and to avo id spurious peaks in the resulting histograms. In this paper we describe a statistical method for making these corrections, its range of application, and its theoretical background. Its use becomes necessary when the frequenc y of events is of the order of 8-50 Hz, depending upon their time to peak, which ranges from 6 to 1 ms in most synaptic potentials recorded in the cen tral nervous system. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.