What is Lateral inhibition?
In [[neurobiology]], '''lateral inhibition''' is the [[wikt:ability|ability]] of an excited [[neuron]] to reduce the activity of its neighbors. It stops [[action potentials]] from spreading in the [[wikt:lateral|lateral]] direction. It is called lateral inhibition as it stops ([[wikt:inhibits|inhibits]]) neighboring neurons from firing. This creates a contrast in stimulation. This increases perception. For example, in vision, it helps in [[wikt:differentiate|differentiating]] edges. It occurs primarily in visual processes. But it has also been seen in [[tactile]], [[Auditory system|auditory]], and even [[olfactory]] processing.<ref>{{cite book|last=Yantis|first=Steven|title=Sensation and Perception|url=https://archive.org/details/sensationpercept0000yant|year=2014|publisher=Worth Publishers|location=New York, NY|page=[https://archive.org/details/sensationpercept0000yant/page/77 77]}}</ref> Cells that use lateral inhibition are mainly present in [[cerebral cortex]] and [[thalamus]]. They make up lateral inhibitory networks (LINs).<ref>{{cite journal|last=Shamma|first=Shihab A.|title=Speech processing in the auditory system II: Lateral inhibition and the central processing of speech evoked activity in the auditory nerve|journal=The Journal of the Acoustical Society of America|date=3 January 1985|volume=78|issue=5|page=1623|doi=10.1121/1.392800|pmid=3840813|bibcode=1985ASAJ...78.1622S}}</ref> Artificial sensory systems have artificial lateral inhibition built in them. Examples are [[vision chip]]s,<ref>{{cite book | title = Vision Chips | author = Alireza Moini | publisher = Springer | year = 2000 | isbn = 0-7923-8664-7 | url = https://books.google.com/books?id=iuxqcj7IwbYC&dq=lateral-inhibition+vision+chips&pg=PA19 }}</ref> hearing systems,<ref>{{Cite book|url=https://www.worldcat.org/oclc/35029758|title=Artificial neural networks : ICANN 96 : 1996 international conference, Bochum, Germany, July 16-19, 1996 : proceedings|date=1996|publisher=Springer|isbn=3-540-61510-5|location=Berlin|oclc=35029758}}</ref> and opt