Our ability to perceive multiple objects is mysterious. Sensory neurons are broadly tuned, producing potential overlap in the populations of neurons activated by each object in a scene. This overlap raises questions about how distinct information is retained about each item. We present a novel signal switching theory of neural representation, which posits that neural signals may interleave representations of individual items across time. Evidence for this theory comes from new statistical tools that overcome the limitations inherent to standard time-and-trial-pooled assessments of neural signals. Our theory has implications for diverse domains of neuroscience, including attention, figure binding/scene segregation, oscillations, and divisive normalization. The general concept of switching between functions could also lend explanatory power to theories of grounded cognition.

中文翻译：

---

信号切换可以提高大脑的处理能力


我们感知多个物体的能力是神秘的。感觉神经元被广泛调整，在场景中每个对象激活的神经元群中产生潜在的重叠。这种重叠引发了关于如何保留每个项目的不同信息的问题。我们提出了一种新的神经表征信号切换理论，该理论假设神经信号可以跨时间交错单个项目的表征。该理论的证据来自新的统计工具，这些工具克服了神经信号的标准时间和试验合并评估所固有的局限性。我们的理论对神经科学的不同领域都有影响，包括注意力、图形绑定/场景分离、振荡和分裂归一化。在功能之间切换的一般概念也可以为扎根认知理论提供解释力。