---
_id: '1886'
abstract:
- lang: eng
  text: 'Information processing in the sensory periphery is shaped by natural stimulus
    statistics. In the periphery, a transmission bottleneck constrains performance;
    thus efficient coding implies that natural signal components with a predictably
    wider range should be compressed. In a different regime—when sampling limitations
    constrain performance—efficient coding implies that more resources should be allocated
    to informative features that are more variable. We propose that this regime is
    relevant for sensory cortex when it extracts complex features from limited numbers
    of sensory samples. To test this prediction, we use central visual processing
    as a model: we show that visual sensitivity for local multi-point spatial correlations,
    described by dozens of independently-measured parameters, can be quantitatively
    predicted from the structure of natural images. This suggests that efficient coding
    applies centrally, where it extends to higher-order sensory features and operates
    in a regime in which sensitivity increases with feature variability.'
article_number: e03722
article_processing_charge: No
author:
- first_name: Ann
  full_name: Hermundstad, Ann
  last_name: Hermundstad
- first_name: John
  full_name: Briguglio, John
  last_name: Briguglio
- first_name: Mary
  full_name: Conte, Mary
  last_name: Conte
- first_name: Jonathan
  full_name: Victor, Jonathan
  last_name: Victor
- first_name: Vijay
  full_name: Balasubramanian, Vijay
  last_name: Balasubramanian
- first_name: Gasper
  full_name: Tkacik, Gasper
  id: 3D494DCA-F248-11E8-B48F-1D18A9856A87
  last_name: Tkacik
  orcid: 0000-0002-6699-1455
citation:
  ama: Hermundstad A, Briguglio J, Conte M, Victor J, Balasubramanian V, Tkačik G.
    Variance predicts salience in central sensory processing. <i>eLife</i>. 2014;(November).
    doi:<a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03722">10.7554/eLife.03722</a>
  apa: Hermundstad, A., Briguglio, J., Conte, M., Victor, J., Balasubramanian, V.,
    &#38; Tkačik, G. (2014). Variance predicts salience in central sensory processing.
    <i>ELife</i>. eLife Sciences Publications. <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03722">https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03722</a>
  chicago: Hermundstad, Ann, John Briguglio, Mary Conte, Jonathan Victor, Vijay Balasubramanian,
    and Gašper Tkačik. “Variance Predicts Salience in Central Sensory Processing.”
    <i>ELife</i>. eLife Sciences Publications, 2014. <a href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03722">https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03722</a>.
  ieee: A. Hermundstad, J. Briguglio, M. Conte, J. Victor, V. Balasubramanian, and
    G. Tkačik, “Variance predicts salience in central sensory processing,” <i>eLife</i>,
    no. November. eLife Sciences Publications, 2014.
  ista: Hermundstad A, Briguglio J, Conte M, Victor J, Balasubramanian V, Tkačik G.
    2014. Variance predicts salience in central sensory processing. eLife. (November),
    e03722.
  mla: Hermundstad, Ann, et al. “Variance Predicts Salience in Central Sensory Processing.”
    <i>ELife</i>, no. November, e03722, eLife Sciences Publications, 2014, doi:<a
    href="https://doi.org/10.7554/eLife.03722">10.7554/eLife.03722</a>.
  short: A. Hermundstad, J. Briguglio, M. Conte, J. Victor, V. Balasubramanian, G.
    Tkačik, ELife (2014).
date_created: 2018-12-11T11:54:32Z
date_published: 2014-11-14T00:00:00Z
date_updated: 2025-09-29T13:08:33Z
day: '14'
ddc:
- '570'
department:
- _id: GaTk
doi: 10.7554/eLife.03722
external_id:
  isi:
  - '000209685300001'
file:
- access_level: open_access
  checksum: 766ac8999ac6e3364f10065a06024b8f
  content_type: application/pdf
  creator: system
  date_created: 2018-12-12T10:12:04Z
  date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:45:20Z
  file_id: '4922'
  file_name: IST-2016-420-v1+1_e03722.full.pdf
  file_size: 5117086
  relation: main_file
file_date_updated: 2020-07-14T12:45:20Z
has_accepted_license: '1'
isi: 1
issue: November
language:
- iso: eng
month: '11'
oa: 1
oa_version: Published Version
project:
- _id: 254D1A94-B435-11E9-9278-68D0E5697425
  call_identifier: FWF
  grant_number: P 25651-N26
  name: Sensitivity to higher-order statistics in natural scenes
publication: eLife
publication_status: published
publisher: eLife Sciences Publications
publist_id: '5209'
pubrep_id: '420'
quality_controlled: '1'
scopus_import: '1'
status: public
title: Variance predicts salience in central sensory processing
tmp:
  image: /images/cc_by.png
  legal_code_url: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/legalcode
  name: Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International Public License (CC-BY 4.0)
  short: CC BY (4.0)
type: journal_article
user_id: 317138e5-6ab7-11ef-aa6d-ffef3953e345
year: '2014'
...