Skip to main content

Thank you for visiting nature.com. You are using a browser version with limited support for CSS. To obtain the best experience, we recommend you use a more up to date browser (or turn off compatibility mode in Internet Explorer). In the meantime, to ensure continued support, we are displaying the site without styles and JavaScript.

  • News & Views
  • Published:

Neurobiology

A chorus line

Nature volume 404, pages 131–133 (2000)Cite this article

Our senses are continuously being bombarded by a plethora of inputs. When one of them is deemed important, attention allows us to concentrate on it and shields us from the irrelevant ones. What happens in the brain when we pay attention to one object and ignore others? This is the question tackled on page 187 of this issue by Steinmetz et al.1, who suggest that attention makes neurons join forces to reinforce their representation of the relevant object.

Each neuron in the brain normally receives messages sent to it by thousands of other neurons. These messages are transmitted in the form of discrete electrical pulses, or ‘spikes’. It is generally accepted that the number of spikes fired by a neuron per unit time conveys useful information to other neurons. This strategy, known as a ‘rate code’, is consistent with the simple notion that neurons act as forgetful spike counters: a neuron fires if enough input spikes arrive within a certain time window, regardless of their fine temporal pattern. However, in principle, additional information can be encoded in other ways that are more subtle — and potentially much more powerful — precisely by conferring some meaning to the times that elapse between spike arrivals. Steinmetz et al.1 provide evidence that spike synchrony, one specific form of temporal pattern, correlates with changes in attentional state in monkeys carrying out specific tasks.

This is a preview of subscription content, access via your institution

Relevant articles

Open Access articles citing this article.

Access options

Buy this article

  • Purchase on SpringerLink
  • Instant access to the full article PDF.

USD 39.95

Prices may be subject to local taxes which are calculated during checkout

Figure 1: Neuronal synchrony in the somatosensory cortex depends on the focus of attention.

References

  1. Steinmetz, P. N. et al. Nature 404, 187–190 (2000).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  2. Singer, W. & Gray, C. M. Annu. Rev. Neurosci. 18, 555–586 (1995).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  3. Shadlen, M. N. & Newsome, W. T. Curr. Opin. Neurobiol. 4, 569–579 (1994).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  4. DeCharms, R. C. & Merzenich, M. M. Nature 381, 610–613 (1995).

    Article  ADS  Google Scholar 

  5. Riehle, A., Grün, S., Diesmann, M. & Aertsen, A. Science 278, 1950–1953 ( 1997).

    Article  ADS  CAS  Google Scholar 

  6. Dan, Y., Alonso, J. M., Usrey, W. M. & Reid, R. C. Nature Neurosci. 1, 501–507 (1998).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  7. Hsiao, S. S., Johnson, K. O. & O'Shaughnessy, D. M. J. Neurophysiol. 70, 444– 447 (1993).

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

Download references

Author information

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Computational Neurobiology Laboratory, Howard Hughes Medical Institute, The Salk Institute for Biological Studies, La Jolla, 92037, California, USA

    Emilio Salinas

  2. Instituto de Fisiología Celular, Universidad Nacional Autónoma de México, México, D.F., 04510, Mexico

    Ranulfo Romo

Authors
  1. Emilio Salinas
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Ranulfo Romo
    View author publications

    Search author on:PubMed Google Scholar

Corresponding authors

Correspondence to Emilio Salinas or Ranulfo Romo.

Rights and permissions

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Cite this article

Salinas, E., Romo, R. A chorus line. Nature 404, 131–133 (2000). https://doi.org/10.1038/35004686

Download citation

  • Issue date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/35004686

This article is cited by

Search

Advanced search

Quick links

Nature Briefing

Sign up for the Nature Briefing newsletter — what matters in science, free to your inbox daily.

Get the most important science stories of the day, free in your inbox. Sign up for Nature Briefing