A statistical method for correcting distortions of amplitude distribution histograms due to collisions of synaptic events

The waveform of spontaneous synaptic potentials or currents comprising synaptic noise can be significantly distorted when these events are closely spaced due to a high frequency activity in the presynaptic inputs that generate them. It is essential to correct these alterations prior to measurements of overlapping miniature and/or postsynaptic potentials, in order to provide reliable information about their true amplitude distributions, and to avoid spurious peaks in the resulting histograms. In this paper we describe a statistical method for making these corrections, its range of application, and its theoretical background. Its use becomes necessary when the frequency of events is of the order of 8-50 Hz, depending upon their time to peak, which ranges from 6 to 1 ms in most synaptic potentials recorded in the central nervous system. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science B.V. All rights reserved.