Feature Detection in Motor Cortical Spikes by Principal Component Analysis (paper) Terms: Neural activity vector (NAV), PCA

Jie Fu
https://sites.google.com/site/bigaidream/

Experiment Procedure

1. (i.e. before close loop BMI experiment), the rat was put in a calibration session. 2. One of the cue LEDs on either sides was illuminated upon the start of a trail 3. Two seconds later, the retractable paddles extended. (The rat was expected to move the light toward the center by properly pressing the paddles). With each press of the paddle, an audible sound was produced in addition to the light being shifted to the left or right, corresponding to a right or left paddle press, respectively.

Neural activity vector (NAV) [Adaptation in neural activity for directional control, IJCNN, 2007] [KEY] NAVs consist of firing rates (frequencies) estimated by counting spikes (action potentials) observed in a window of time called a bin offset by a fixed time from some task event. Multiple time windows from multiple neurons are then concatenated into a single vector (Fig. 3).

NAV captures the spatial and temporal characteristics of a neural representation and serves as input to computer decision model.