Temporal coding

The temporal coding model of neuronal communication is similar to the rate coding model in that the information carried by an action potential or "spike" is determined by the frequency of neuronal firing. However the temporal coding model tries to account for short-term stimuli producing a small number of spikes.

For example, if a neuron is capable of firing at a maximum rate of 100 spikes per second, then a 10ms stimulus would mean that only a single spike was fired. This model is especially important for sound localization, which occurs within the brain on the order of milliseconds.

See also

• Sparse coding
• Independent-spike coding
• Correlation coding
• Population coding

References

• Dayan P & Abbott LF. Theoretical Neuroscience: Computational and Mathematical Modeling of Neural Systems. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press; 2001. ISBN 0262041995
• Rieke F, Warland D, de Ruyter van Steveninck R, Bialek W. Spikes: Exploring the Neural Code. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The MIT Press; 1999. ISBN 0262681080