INFORMATION THEORETIC ANALYSIS OF DYNAMICAL ENCODING BY FOUR IDENTIFIED PRIMARY SENSORY INTERNEURONS IN THE CRICKET CERCAL SYSTEM

1. The stimulus/response properties of four identified primary sensory interneurons in the cricket cercal sensory system were studied using electrophysiological techniques. These four cells are thought to represent a functionally discrete subunit of the cercal system: they are the only cells that encode information about stimulus direction to higher centers for low intensity stimuli. Previous studies characterized the quantity of information encoded by these cells about the direction of air currents in the horizontal plane. In the experiments reported here, we characterized the quantity and quality of information encoded in the cells' elicited responses about the dynamics of air current waveforms presented at their optimal stimulus directions. The total sample set included 22 cells. 2. This characterization was achieved by determining the cells' frequency sensitivities and encoding accuracy using the methods of stochastic systems analysis and information theory. The specific approach used for the analysis...