POSTER PRESENTATION Open Access Optimal neural coding in networks of heterogeneous neurons

Neural systems display a prominent level of heterogeneity in synaptic, neuron, and network properties. Even among same-class neurons, differences in excitability properties, for instance, may be present in the system, and this could have strong implications for information processing. A well-known example is the so called population coding, a strategy which relies on the particular responses of indivi-dual neurons of a network to code information. This occurs for instance in V1 cortical networks, where the orientation preference of neurons allows for efficient infor-mation coding [1]. However, not many studies have addressed the role of neural heterogeneity in other neural coding strategies. Interestingly, cell-to-cell differences have been recently found to be relevant in synchronization of inhibitory networks [2], coherent activity in electricall