Neuronal Tuning

Neuronal tuning refers to the property of brain cells by which they selectively represent a particular type of sensory, motor, or cognitive information. Neuronal responses are optimally tuned to specific patterns through experience. Neuronal tuning can be strong and sharp, as observed in primary visual cortex (area V1), or weak and broad, as observed in neural ensembles. Single neurons may be simultaneously tuned to several modalities, such as visual, auditory, and olfactory. Neurons that are tuned to different signals often integrate information from the different sources. In neural networks, such integration is the major principle of operation. The best examples of neuronal tuning can be seen in the visual, auditory, olfactory, somatosensory, and memory systems.