Response patterns to pure tones of cochlear nucleus units in the CF-FM bat,Rhinolophus ferrumequinum

1977 ◽  
Vol 115 (1) ◽  
pp. 119-133 ◽  
Author(s):  
G. Neuweiler ◽  
M. Vater
1976 ◽  
Vol 39 (1) ◽  
pp. 179-194 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. Britt ◽  
A. Starr

Responses of 99 cochlear nucleus cells and 24 cochlear nerve fibers were studied with FM signals; 14 cochlear nerve fibers and 57 cochlear nucleus cells were studied at four rates of modulation and several signal intensities. Classification of FM response patterns as symmetrical, asymmetrical, or unidirectional was based on the calculation of a symmetry factor (S), which compared the number of discharges evoked by the ascending and by the descending phases of the FM sweep. Certain FM response patterns could not adequately be described by the symmetry factor along and variables of modulation rate and signal intensity had significant influence. A correspondence was found between the four response classes evoked by a steady-frequency tone burst (primarylike, buildup, onset, and pause) and the FM response pattern. Cochlear nerve fibers showed symmetrical response patterns to FM stimulation. Primarylike units were similar to eighth nerve fibers and generally showed symmetrical FM responses. Occasional eighth nerve fibers and primarylike cells developed asymmetry at the fastest rate of modulation (50 sps). Buildup units showed a variety of response patterns to FM signals. Onset units generally showed asymmetrical response patterns with the greater response occurring to the ascending than to the descending phase of the FM sweep. Pause units showed a characteristic inhibition of activity at 5 sps (rate-dependent inhibition). Of the 57 cochlear nuclear cells studied in response to FM signals, 16 were symmetrical, another 16 were symmetrical except at the fastest modulation rate, 12 were asymmetrical, 3 were unidirectional, and 10 showed complex responses to certain signal rates or intensities. It is clear the the cat cochlear with its complex cytoarchitecture is involved in the recoding of acoustic information. Some units in cochlear nucleus demonstrate differential responses to the direction and to the rate of frequency movement. Other cochlear nucleus cells respond as eighth nerve fibers and may serve as simple "relays" in transmitting information from the cochlea to higher auditory centers.


1977 ◽  
Vol 86 (1) ◽  
pp. 37-48 ◽  
Author(s):  
Allen L. Rupert ◽  
Donald M. Caspary ◽  
George Moushegian

Most studies in auditory neurophysiology have utilized tonal stimuli to determine the coding properties of neurons in the cochlear nuclei. In this investigation of the kangaroo rat, cochlear nuclei, neuronal responses to vowel sounds, as well as tones, were studied. The vowel sounds, each about 40 msec in duration were: [a], [i], [I], [ε], [o], [u], [Formula: see text] [æ], and [ṛ]. Five were linked together to form a 200 msec stimulus and various combinations of five vowel sounds provided us with 18 different stimuli. The results show that neurons in the cochlear nuclei are remarkably sensitive and selective to vowel sounds. Furthermore, the responses of these neurons to pure tones do not provide a complete basis to predict the types of responses to the vowel sounds. More significant is the finding that the neural discharge rate and pattern of discharge to a particular vowel may depend on where the vowel appears in the stimulus and what other vowel precedes it. This vowel positional effect is not the same for every neuron. We have called this phenomenon a neural “set.”


1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 19-22 ◽  
Author(s):  
Ricardo A. Velluti ◽  
JoséL. Peña ◽  
Marisa Pedemonte ◽  
Peter M. Narins

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