TY - JOUR TI - Adaptive coding for dynamic sensory inference AU - MÅ‚ynarski, Wiktor F AU - Hermundstad, Ann M A2 - Palmer, Stephanie VL - 7 PY - 2018 DA - 2018/07/10 SP - e32055 C1 - eLife 2018;7:e32055 DO - 10.7554/eLife.32055 UR - https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.32055 AB - Behavior relies on the ability of sensory systems to infer properties of the environment from incoming stimuli. The accuracy of inference depends on the fidelity with which behaviorally relevant properties of stimuli are encoded in neural responses. High-fidelity encodings can be metabolically costly, but low-fidelity encodings can cause errors in inference. Here, we discuss general principles that underlie the tradeoff between encoding cost and inference error. We then derive adaptive encoding schemes that dynamically navigate this tradeoff. These optimal encodings tend to increase the fidelity of the neural representation following a change in the stimulus distribution, and reduce fidelity for stimuli that originate from a known distribution. We predict dynamical signatures of such encoding schemes and demonstrate how known phenomena, such as burst coding and firing rate adaptation, can be understood as hallmarks of optimal coding for accurate inference. KW - efficient coding KW - Bayesian inference KW - normative theories KW - adaptation KW - neural dynamics KW - perception JF - eLife SN - 2050-084X PB - eLife Sciences Publications, Ltd ER -