Optimal Coding for Naturally Occurring Whisker Deflections

It is largely unknown how the properties of the somatosensory system relate to the properties of naturally occurring whisker deflections. Here, we analyse representations of simulated neurons that have optimally sparse activity in response to recorded reflections of a rat whisker from surfaces of everyday objects. These representations predict a number of interesting properties of neurons in the somatosensory system that have not been measured yet.