page_title: Lateral inhibition
section_title: Sensory inhibition
hierarchical_section_title: Lateral inhibition / Sensory inhibition
caption_attribution_description: English: Lateral inhibition can be used in vision. If a signal coming from the left (three blue arrows) activates all three neurons (A, B, and C) but affects B with the strongest signal or first, then B fires rightwards down the axon but also sends signals to neurons A and C (broken red arrow) not to fire. The result is a sharper signal (pink arrow).
context_page_description: In neurobiology, lateral inhibition is the capacity of an excited neuron to reduce the activity of its neighbors. Lateral inhibition disables the spreading of action potentials from excited neurons to neighboring neurons in the lateral direction. This creates a contrast in stimulation that allows increased sensory perception. It is also referred to as lateral antagonism and occurs primarily in visual processes, but also in tactile, auditory, and even olfactory processing. Cells that utilize lateral inhibition appear primarily in the cerebral cortex and thalamus and make up lateral inhibitory networks. Artificial lateral inhibition has been incorporated into artificial sensory systems, such as vision chips, hearing systems, and optical mice. An often under-appreciated point is that although lateral inhibition is visualised in a spatial sense, it is also thought to exist in what is known as "lateral inhibition across abstract dimensions." This refers to lateral inhibition between neurons that are not adjacent in a spatial sense, but in terms of modality of stimulus. This phenomenon is thought to aid in colour discrimination.
context_section_description: Georg von Békésy, in his book Sensory Inhibition, explores a wide range of inhibitory phenomena in sensory systems, and interprets them in terms of sharpening.
caption: A stimulus affecting all three neurons, but which affects B strongest or first, can be sharpened if B sends lateral signals to neighbors A and C not to fire, thereby inhibiting them. Lateral inhibition is used in vision to sharpen signals to the brain (pink arrow).
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