ABSTRACT
Wiener kernels and white noise stimuli provide a powerful approach for analyzing nonlinear input-output characteristics of biological systems. Although there have been many interesting and important advances using this approach, it hasn’t yet received wide acceptance. This chapter discusses that some of the reasons for the slow acceptance involve the nonoptimal methods for estimating the kernels. It provides an approach to Wiener kernel analysis that overcomes past difficulties, keeping an eye on its practical application. The chapter develops the general Wiener formalism and shows how a general stationary nonlinear system can be expanded in terms of a set of orthogonal basis functions. It shows how the expansion coefficients (the kernels) can be calculated from the response of the system to a white noise input. The chapter examines the relative merits of different amplitude distributions and how the kernels measured with different amplitudes are connected.
