Frequency tuning, latencies, and responses to frequency-modulated sweeps in the inferior colliculus of the echolocating bat, Eptesicus fuscus

1997 ◽  
Vol 182 (1) ◽  
pp. 65-79 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. J. Ferragamo ◽  
T. Haresign ◽  
J. A. Simmons
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus

Neural Tuning to Sound Duration in the Inferior Colliculus of the Big Brown Bat, Eptesicus fuscus

1997 ◽  
Vol 77 (5) ◽  
pp. 2360-2372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Daphna Ehrlich ◽  
John H. Casseday ◽  
Ellen Covey
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Stimulus Duration ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Temporal Structure ◽  
Eptesicus Fuscus ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Inhibitory Input ◽  
Echolocation Calls ◽  
Big Brown Bat ◽  
Sound Duration

Ehrlich, Daphna, John H. Casseday, and Ellen Covey. Neural tuning to sound duration in the inferior colliculus of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus. J. Neurophysiol. 77: 2360–2372, 1997. Neural tuning to different sound durations may be a useful filter for identification of certain sounds, especially those that are biologically important. The auditory midbrains of mammals and amphibians contain neurons that appear to be tuned to sound duration. In amphibians, neurons are tuned to durations of sound that are biologically important. The purpose of this study was to characterize responses of neurons in the inferior colliculus (IC) of the big brown bat, Eptesicus fuscus, to sounds of different durations. Our aims were to determine what percent of neurons are duration tuned and how best durations are correlated to durations of echolocation calls, and to examine response properties that may be relevant to the mechanism for duration tuning, such as latency and temporal firing pattern; we also examined frequency tuning and rate-level functions. We recorded from 136 single units in the central nucleus of the IC of unanesthetized bats. The stimuli were pure tones, frequency-modulated sweeps, and broadband noise. The criterion for duration tuning was an increase in spike count of ≥50% at some durations compared with others. Of the total units sampled, 36% were tuned to stimulus duration. All of these units were located in the caudal half of the IC. Best duration for most units ranged from <1 to 10 ms, but a few had best durations up to ≥20 ms. This range is similar to the range of durations of echolocation calls used by Eptesicus. All duration-tuned neurons responded transiently. The minimum latency was always longer than the best duration. Duration-tuned units have best durations and best frequencies that match the temporal structure and frequency range of the echolocation calls. Thus the results raise the hypothesis that neurons in the IC of Eptesicus, and probably the auditory midbrain of other vertebrates, are tuned to biologically important sound durations. We suggest a model for duration tuning consisting of three components: 1) inhibitory input that is correlated with the onset of the stimulus and is sustained for the stimulus duration; 2) transient excitation that is correlated with the offset of the stimulus; and 3) transient excitation that is correlated with the onset of the stimulus but is delayed in time relative to the onset of inhibition. For the neuron to fire, the two excitatory events must coincide in time; noncoincident excitatory events are not sufficient.

scholarly journals Tonotopic and non-auditory organization of the mouse dorsal inferior colliculus revealed by two-photon imaging

eLife ◽  
2019 ◽  
Vol 8 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron Benson Wong ◽  
J Gerard G Borst
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Gabaergic Neurons ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Spontaneous Movements ◽  
Multimodal Information ◽  
Auditory Organization

The dorsal (DCIC) and lateral cortices (LCIC) of the inferior colliculus are major targets of the auditory and non-auditory cortical areas, suggesting a role in complex multimodal information processing. However, relatively little is known about their functional organization. We utilized in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging in awake mice expressing GCaMP6s in GABAergic or non-GABAergic neurons in the IC to investigate their spatial organization. We found different classes of temporal responses, which we confirmed with simultaneous juxtacellular electrophysiology. Both GABAergic and non-GABAergic neurons showed spatial microheterogeneity in their temporal responses. In contrast, a robust, double rostromedial-caudolateral gradient of frequency tuning was conserved between the two groups, and even among the subclasses. This, together with the existence of a subset of neurons sensitive to spontaneous movements, provides functional evidence for redefining the border between DCIC and LCIC.

Responses of neurons in the auditory pathway of the barn owl to partially correlated binaural signals

1995 ◽  
Vol 74 (4) ◽  
pp. 1689-1700 ◽  
Author(s):  
Y. Albeck ◽  
M. Konishi
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Cross Correlation ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Neuronal Response ◽  
Interaural Time Difference ◽  
Central Nucleus ◽  
High Threshold ◽  
Correlation Model ◽  
Response Curves ◽  
The Cross

1. Extracellular single-unit recording in anesthetized barn owls was used to study neuronal response to dichotic stimuli of variable binaural correlation (BC). Recordings were made in the output fibers of nucleus laminaris (NL), the anterior division of the ventral lateral lemniscal nucleus (VLVa), the core of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICcC), the lateral shell of the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICcLS), and the external nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICx). 2. The response of all neurons sensitive to interaural time difference (ITD) varied with BC. The relationship between BC and impulse number fits a linear, a parabolic, or a ramp model. A linear or parabolic model fits most neurons in low-level nuclei. Higher order neurons in ICx did not respond to noise bursts with strong negative binaural correlation, creating a ramp-like response to BC. 3. A neuron's ability to detect ITD varied as a function of BC. Conversely, a neuron's response to BC changed with ITD. Neurons in NL, VLVa, and ICcC show almost periodic ITD response curves. In these neurons peaks and troughs of ITD response curves diminished as BC decreased, creating a flat ITD response when BC = 0. When BC was set to -1, the most favorable ITD became the least favorable one and vice versa. The ITD response curve of ICx neurons usually has a single dominant peak. The response of those neurons to a negatively correlated noise pair (BC = -1) showed two ITD peaks, flanking the position of the primary peak. 4. The parabolic BC response of NL neurons fits the prediction of the cross-correlation model, assuming half-wave rectification of the sound by the cochlea. Linear response is not predicted by the model. However, the parabolic and the linear neurons probably do not belong to two distinct groups as the difference between them is not statistically significant. Thus, the cross-correlation model provides a good description of the binaural response not only in NL but also in VLVa and ICcC. 5. Almost all ramp neurons occurred in either ICx or ICcLS where neurons are more broadly tuned to frequency than those in the lower nuclei. The synthesis of this response type requires, however, not only the convergence of different frequency channels but also inhibition between different ITD channels. We modeled the ramp response as a three-step process. First, different spectral channels converge to create broad frequency tuning. The response to variation in BC will be linear (or parabolic) because it is a sum of linear (parabolic) responses. Second, the activity in some adjacent ITD channels is subtracted by lateral inhibition. Finally, the result is rectified using a high threshold to avoid negative activity.

scholarly journals Different Serotonin Receptor Agonists Have Distinct Effects on Sound-Evoked Responses in Inferior Colliculus

2006 ◽  
Vol 96 (5) ◽  
pp. 2177-2188 ◽  
Author(s):  
Laura M. Hurley
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Auditory Processing ◽  
Serotonin Receptors ◽  
Serotonin Receptor ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Receptor Subtypes ◽  
Tuning Curves ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Selective Agonists ◽  
Auditory Nucleus

The neuromodulator serotonin has a complex set of effects on the auditory responses of neurons within the inferior colliculus (IC), a midbrain auditory nucleus that integrates a wide range of inputs from auditory and nonauditory sources. To determine whether activation of different types of serotonin receptors is a source of the variability in serotonergic effects, four selective agonists of serotonin receptors in the serotonin (5-HT) 1 and 5-HT2 families were iontophoretically applied to IC neurons, which were monitored for changes in their responses to auditory stimuli. Different agonists had different effects on neural responses. The 5-HT1A agonist had mixed facilitatory and depressive effects, whereas 5-HT1B and 5-HT2C agonists were both largely facilitatory. Different agonists changed threshold and frequency tuning in ways that reflected their effects on spike count. When pairs of agonists were applied sequentially to the same neurons, selective agonists sometimes affected neurons in ways that were similar to serotonin, but not to other selective agonists tested. Different agonists also differentially affected groups of neurons classified by the shapes of their frequency-tuning curves, with serotonin and the 5-HT1 receptors affecting proportionally more non-V-type neurons relative to the other agonists tested. In all, evidence suggests that the diversity of serotonin receptor subtypes in the IC is likely to account for at least some of the variability of the effects of serotonin and that receptor subtypes fulfill specialized roles in auditory processing.

Spatial map of frequency tuning-curve shapes in the mouse inferior colliculus

Neuroreport ◽  
2003 ◽  
Vol 14 (10) ◽  
pp. 1365-1369 ◽  
Author(s):  
Günter Ehret ◽  
Marina Egorova ◽  
Steffen R. Hage ◽  
Birgit A. Müller
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Tuning Curve

scholarly journals Tonotopic and multisensory organization of the mouse dorsal inferior colliculus revealed by two-photon imaging

2019 ◽  
Author(s):  
Aaron B. Wong ◽  
J. Gerard G. Borst
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Spatial Organization ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Gabaergic Neurons ◽  
Temporal Response ◽  
Two Photon ◽  
Spontaneous Movements ◽  
Multimodal Information

AbstractThe dorsal (DCIC) and lateral cortices (LCIC) of the inferior colliculus are major targets of the auditory and non-auditory cortical areas, suggesting a role in complex multimodal information processing. However, relatively little is known about their functional organization. We utilized in vivo two-photon Ca2+ imaging in awake mice expressing GCaMP6s in GABAergic or non-GABAergic neurons in the IC to investigate their spatial organization. We found different classes of temporal response, which we confirmed with simultaneous juxtacellular electrophysiology. Both GABAergic and non-GABAergic neurons showed spatial microheterogeneity in their temporal responses. In contrast, a robust reversed rostromedial-caudolateral gradient of frequency tuning was conserved between the two groups, and even among the subclasses. This, together with the existence of a subset of neurons sensitive to spontaneous movements, provides functional evidence for redefining the border between DCIC and LCIC.

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