Methods and apparatus are provided for identifying environmental stimuli in an artificial nervous system using both spiking onset and spike counting. One example method of operating an artificial nervous system generally includes receiving a stimulus; generating, at an artificial neuron, a spike train of two or more spikes based at least in part on the stimulus; identifying the stimulus based at least in part on an onset of the spike train; and checking the identified stimulus based at least in part on a rate of the spikes in the spike train. In this manner, certain aspects of the present disclosure may respond with short response latencies and may also maintain accuracy by allowing for error correction.