Coherent oscillations as a neural code in a model of the olfactory system

This paper presents an investigation of two odor-coding mechanisms in Freeman's KIII neurodynamics model. Motivated by experimental evidence that supports the existence of a neural code based on synchronous oscillations, we propose an analogy between synchronization in neural populations and phase locking in KIII channels. The information carried by the phase is compared against the conventional amplitude code in terms of pattern-recovery capabilities. First, the scalar invariance of the KIII with respect to phase information is established. Symmetries and redundancies in the associative memory matrices are then exploited to perform an exhaustive evaluation of patterns on an 8-channel model. Simulation results show that phase information outperforms amplitude information in the recovery of odor patterns from incomplete or corrupted sensory stimulus.