Detecting Determinism in Firing Activities of Retinal Ganglion Cells during Response to Complex Stimuli

Complex stimuli are used to probe the response properties of the chicken's retinal ganglion cells (GCs). The correlation dimension method and the nonlinear forecasting method are applied to detect the determinism in the firing activities of the retinal GCs during response to complex stimuli. The inter-spike interval (ISI) series and the first difference of the ISI (DISI) series are analysed. Two conclusions are drawn. Firstly, the first difference operation of the ISI series makes it comparatively easier for determinism detection in the firing activities of retinal GCs. Secondly, the nonlinear forecasting method is more efficient and reliable than the correlation dimension method for determinism detection.