Response synchronization in the visual cortex.

Recently, the classic idea of a 'relational' code in the brain received new impetus from the observation of stimulus-dependent synchronizations in the visual cortex. Work over the past two years has focused on documenting the functional dependencies of such synchronizations. We review and classify the experimental findings with respect to separate spatial and temporal schemes. Thus, we distinguish between different signal classes (spikes, continuous signals), and different types of time-locking to the stimulus. These various classes of synchronization phenomena are discussed with regard to their properties, the underlying mechanisms and their possible relevance for visual processing.