Significance
Since the neurons of the ELL receive both a corollary discharge (another term for an efference copy) of the motor output commands sent to the EOD, and afferent input from the electrosensory receptors, the animal is able to eliminate predictable inputs produced by its own motor output. The system is able to filter the expected input from the EOD, while signals which are unexpected, arriving at odd intervals with regard to the motor command are effectively strengthened by the learning rule. This allows the extraction of information about objects which cause an alteration in the flow of the electric field around the fish, highlighting changes while discarding uninformative sensory inputs.
The adaptation of these synapses, though, will only increase the strength of a synaptic connection until the resulting excitation aids in activation of a broad-spike wave. As a result, if changes in external environment are consistent, the connections between the neurons previously described will reach a level at which excitation, similar to the initial state, is once again held at a threshold, so that slight changes in the incoming sensory information will result in contribution to broad-spike initiation. In this manner, the organism is able to learn to ignore redundant sensory information in the environment. The eventual desensitization to these consistencies is essential to prevent excessive noise from masking important sensory information. Numerous potential causes which could result in a consistent alteration in the reception of EOD signals include: growth, changes in water conductance (salinity), low water levels (where the shallow bottom of the body of water would interfere with electrical currents), and possibly injuries.
Read more about this topic: Anti-Hebbian Learning
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