ABSTRACT
Individual neurons encode information by virtue of two properties. Firstly, the iring frequency signals stimulus intensity and how it changes with time. In the same way motor neuron firing rate encodes the timing and force of contraction of a discrete population of muscle fibers. This is rate coding. Secondly, the address of an afferent neuron, that is, how it is connected via its inputs and outputs, encodes the spatial location of a stimulus, and the nature of the stimulus (i.e., touch, vision), a property termed modality. The address of a motor neuron contributes to the type of movement executed and its direction.
