Lateral inhibition

Lateral Inhibition (lat-er-al in-hi-bi-tion) is a fundamental mechanism in neuroscience and sensory processing that describes the capacity of an excited neuron to reduce the activity of its neighbors. This process allows the contrast enhancement of sensory events and helps to localize sensory stimuli.

Etymology

The term "lateral inhibition" is derived from the Latin words latus meaning "side" and inhibitio meaning "restraining". It refers to the process where signals from neurons are restrained or inhibited by neighboring neurons.

Mechanism

Lateral inhibition involves the activity of interneurons, which create an inhibitory effect on adjacent neurons. This process enhances the perception of stimuli by making a stimulated neuron's activity seem more significant relative to its neighbors. It is a crucial process in many sensory systems, including the visual system, auditory system, and somatosensory system.

Role in Sensory Systems

Visual System

In the visual system, lateral inhibition helps to enhance the contrast in images, making edges easier to see. This is achieved by inhibiting the response of neurons that detect light in the periphery of a visual field, thereby enhancing the response of neurons that detect light in the center of the visual field.

Auditory System

In the auditory system, lateral inhibition helps to localize sound. It does this by inhibiting the response of neurons that detect sound in one ear when a sound is louder in the other ear.

Somatosensory System

In the somatosensory system, lateral inhibition helps to localize touch. It does this by inhibiting the response of neurons that detect touch in areas surrounding a point of contact, thereby enhancing the response of neurons that detect touch at the point of contact.

Related Terms

• Neuron
• Interneurons
• Visual System
• Auditory System
• Somatosensory System

External links

• Medical encyclopedia article on Lateral inhibition
• Wikipedia's article - Lateral inhibition

This WikiMD dictionary article is a stub. You can help make it a full article.

---

Languages: - East Asian 中文, 日本, 한국어, South Asian हिन्दी, Urdu, বাংলা, తెలుగు, தமிழ், ಕನ್ನಡ,
Southeast Asian Indonesian, Vietnamese, Thai, မြန်မာဘာသာ, European español, Deutsch, français, русский, português do Brasil, Italian, polski