Abstract
Acoustic responses were recorded extracellularly from single neurons in the thalamic central posterior nucleus (CP). Spontaneous activity, best sensitivity, and sharpness of tuning (Q10db) of CP neurons ranged from 0 to 36 spikes/s, -40 to 5 dB re: 1 dyne/cm2, and 0.18 to 1.80, respectively. The distribution of characteristic frequency (CF) was nonuniform with a mode at 195 Hz. Temporal response patterns of CP neurons (N = 60) were categorized into three groups: phasic (25%), tonic chopper-like (22%), and tonic nonchopper-like (53%) on the basis of peri-stimulus time and inter-spike interval histograms. Most CP neurons (90%) did not phase-lock to tones, and none phase-locked strongly. The properties of CP neurons are similar to those of the midbrain torus semicircularis neurons in spontaneous rates, best sensitivities, nonuniform CF distributions, and in exhibiting level-independent best frequencies. Both CP and toral neurons show a diversity of response patterns resembling those found in the mammalian central auditory system. However, CP neurons have broader tuning and less phase-locking than toral neurons, suggesting different roles in auditory processing. While peripheral frequency analysis is enhanced at the midbrain level, the integration of frequency-selective channels in the thalamus may function in the processing of wideband spectra characteristic of natural sound sources.
Original language | English (US) |
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Pages (from-to) | 747-760 |
Number of pages | 14 |
Journal | Journal of Comparative Physiology A |
Volume | 176 |
Issue number | 6 |
DOIs | |
State | Published - Jun 1 1995 |
Externally published | Yes |
Keywords
- Frequency selectivity
- Goldfish
- Hearing
- Phase-locking
- Thalamus
ASJC Scopus subject areas
- Behavioral Neuroscience
- Neuroscience(all)
- Physiology (medical)
- Physiology
- Animal Science and Zoology