scholarly journals Some Parameters of Unit Response Patterns in Cochlear Nerve of Cat

1963 ◽  
Vol 35 (5) ◽  
pp. 794-794
Author(s):  
George Moushegian
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.


1975 ◽  
Vol 46 (1) ◽  
pp. 215-228 ◽  
Author(s):  
Bryan E. Pfingst ◽  
Charles J. Bruce ◽  
Paul G. Shinkman

1964 ◽  
Vol 36 (1) ◽  
pp. 196-202 ◽  
Author(s):  
George Moushegian ◽  
Allen Rupert ◽  
Milton A. Whitcomb

1972 ◽  
Vol 52 (1A) ◽  
pp. 142-143
Author(s):  
M. B. Sachs ◽  
R. H. Lewis ◽  
E. D. Young

1984 ◽  
Vol 51 (5) ◽  
pp. 1040-1054 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. D. Rose ◽  
S. L. Bieber

Single midbrain neurons were examined for effects of ovarian hormone administration on responsiveness to an array of lordosis-controlling types of somatosensory stimuli in anesthetized, ovariectomized Syrian hamsters. Neuronal responses were recorded under four different hormonal treatment conditions: 1) estradiol benzoate (EB) followed by progesterone (P), 2) EB alone, 3) P alone, or 4) no hormone administration. Only the hamsters receiving both EB and P showed lordosis in a mating test immediately prior to preparation for recording. The joint administration of EB and P strongly facilitated unit responsiveness to lordosis-eliciting (e.g., lumbosacral tactile) forms of stimulation. The incidence of units showing sustained changes in firing of at least +/- 30% in response to these stimuli was highest in animals having received EB and P (69%) and lowest in those given P alone (37%), with the occurrence of responsive units significantly different across the four hormonal conditions. The magnitude of the median unit response to lordosis-trigger stimuli in hamsters given EB and P was significantly higher than unit responses in hamsters receiving either P alone or no hormone. Bilateral shoulders stimulation, a weak stimulus for lordosis elicitation, produced the most responses in units from animals given EB and P (42%) and the fewest in hamsters given EB alone (12%), with a significant difference in responsiveness across the hormonal conditions. The incidence of units responding exclusively to facial stimulation, which is strongly antagonistic to lordosis in behaving animals, was greatest in hamsters injected with P alone (22%) and least for cells from the animals given both EB and P (6%). The difference in unit responsiveness to this stimulus across the four hormone conditions was significant. Analysis of unit-response patterns by the multivariate technique of discriminant analysis revealed that neuronal responses to most stimuli, especially flanks, back, shoulders, and face, were differentially affected by the hormone treatments such that these response patterns could be used to identify the four hormonal conditions from which the neurons were sampled. In addition, the hormonal treatments were found to have influenced the incidence of accelerative or decelerative unit responses to somatic stimuli. Discriminant analysis of unit responses as a function of location of the cells within the midbrain showed that neurons in the tectum and central gray had response patterns highly distinguishable from each other as well as from those of cells in the central and ventromedial tegmental regions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)


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