Signal compression in the sensory periphery

We consider the signal compression problem in the peripheral nervous system. We propose a simple mechanism by which the narrow dynamical range observed experimentally in isolated sensory neurons translates into a wide dynamical range as a result of excitable waves and synchronization phenomena which provides self-limited amplification. The mechanism is illustrated by means of different models in which excitable elements are coupled by lateral electrical connections. The models are based on recent experimental findings that gap junctions are present in the olfactory sensory periphery.