Effects of noradrenaline on rate-level function of auditory cortex neurons: Is there a "gating" effect of noradrenaline?

1998 ◽  
Vol 118 (3) ◽  
pp. 361-372 ◽  
Author(s):  
Yves Manunta ◽  
J.-M. Edeline
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Level Function ◽  
Gating Effect

Effect of tone-pulse rise time on rate-level functions of cat auditory cortex neurons: excitatory and inhibitory processes shaping responses to tone onset

1988 ◽  
Vol 59 (5) ◽  
pp. 1524-1539 ◽  
Author(s):  
D. P. Phillips
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Rise Time ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Tone Onset ◽  
Tone Frequency ◽  
Pulse Envelope ◽  
Pulse Rise Time ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Tone Pulse ◽  
Level Function

1. The responses of cat auditory cortex neurons are largely dominated by transient stimulus events, including tone-pulse onset. In addition, these neurons often receive sensitive inhibitory inputs in tone frequency-intensity domains flanking the excitatory one centered at characteristic frequency (CF). These observations suggest that auditory cortex neurons might be sensitive to the spectral splatter that occurs at tone onset due to the tone-pulse envelope shape. 2. To investigate this hypothesis, single neurons in the primary auditory cortex of anesthetized cats were studied for the form of their spike-rate versus tone-level functions using CF tone pulses of different rise times. Stimuli were presented to the contralateral ear using a calibrated, sealed stimulus delivery system. 3. Some neurons with monotonic rate-level functions for conventional (5-10 ms) rise-time tones were relatively insensitive to variations in tone-pulse rise time. Other monotonic neurons showed rate-level functions that became increasingly bell shaped for shorter rise-time stimuli. All neurons with bell-shaped, nonmonotonic rate-level functions for conventional rise-time tones became increasingly nonmonotonic for shorter rise-time signals. In the same neurons, lengthening of tone rise times typically reduced the slope of the high-intensity, descending limb of the rate-level function, in some cases to zero. 4. This pattern of rise-time effects is consistent with previous evidence on the association between rate-level function shape and the presence of inhibitory tone response areas flanking the excitatory one at CF. The present data suggest that cortical neurons are sensitive to the gross shape of the short-term stimulus spectrum at tone onset, and that for many neurons, the nonmonotonic form of CF tone rate level functions may be configured as much by the rate of tone onset as by the plateau amplitude of a tone pulse.

Monaural inhibition in cat auditory cortex

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (5) ◽  
pp. 1876-1891 ◽  
Author(s):  
M. B. Calford ◽  
M. N. Semple
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Lateral Inhibition ◽  
Cortical Neurons ◽  
Frequency Tuning ◽  
Inhibitory Response ◽  
Forward Masking ◽  
Excitatory Response ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Wide Range ◽  
Response Area

1. Several studies of auditory cortex have examined the competitive inhibition that can occur when appropriate sounds are presented to each ear. However, most cortical neurons also show both excitation and inhibition in response to presentation of stimuli at one ear alone. The extent of such inhibition has not been described. Forward masking, in which a variable masking stimulus was followed by a fixed probe stimulus (within the excitatory response area), was used to examine the extent of monaural inhibition for neurons in primary auditory cortex of anesthetized cats (barbiturate or barbiturate-ketamine). Both the masking and probe stimuli were 50-ms tone pips presented to the contralateral ear. Most cortical neurons showed significant forward masking at delays beyond which masking effects in the auditory nerve are relatively small compared with those seen in cortical neurons. Analysis was primarily concerned with such components. Standard rate-level functions were also obtained and were examined for nonmonotonicity, an indication of level-dependent monaural inhibition. 2. Consistent with previous reports, a wide range of frequency tuning properties (excitatory response area shapes) was found in cortical neurons. This was matched by a wide range of forward-masking-derived inhibitory response areas. At the most basic level of analysis, these were classified according to the presence of lateral inhibition, i.e., where a probe tone at a neuron's characteristic frequency was masked by tones outside the limits of the excitatory response area. Lateral inhibition was a property of 38% of the sampled neurons. Such neurons represented 77% of those with nonmonotonic rate-level functions, indicating a strong correlation between the two indexes of monaural inhibition; however, the shapes of forward masking inhibitory response areas did not usually correspond with those required to account for the "tuning" of a neuron. In addition, it was found that level-dependent inhibition was not added to by forward masking inhibition. 3. Analysis of the discharges to individual stimulus pair presentations, under conditions of partial masking, revealed that discharges to the probe occurred independently of discharges to the preceding masker. This indicates that even when the masker is within a neuron's excitatory response area, forward masking is not a postdischarge habituation phenomenon. However, for most neurons the degree of masking summed over multiple stimulus presentations appears determined by the same stimulus parameters that determine the probability of response to the masker.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Acetylcholine modifies neuronal acoustic rate-level functions in guinea pig auditory cortex by an muscarinic receptors

Synapse ◽  
1990 ◽  
Vol 6 (4) ◽  
pp. 364-368 ◽  
Author(s):  
Raju Metherate ◽  
John H. Ashe ◽  
Norman M. Weinberger
Keyword(s):  
Guinea Pig ◽  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Muscarinic Receptors ◽  
Rate Level

Level dependence of cochlear nucleus onset unit responses and facilitation by second tones or broadband noise

1995 ◽  
Vol 73 (1) ◽  
pp. 141-159 ◽  
Author(s):  
I. M. Winter ◽  
A. R. Palmer
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Nucleus ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Sound Level ◽  
Spike Timing ◽  
Broadband Noise ◽  
Sound System ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Sound Levels ◽  
Level Function

1. The responses of onset units in the cochlear nucleus of the anesthetized guinea pig have been measured to single tones, two-tone complexes, and broadband noise (BBN; 20-kHz bandwidth). The onset units were subdivided into three groups, onset-I (OnI), onset-L (OnL), and onset-C (OnC), on the basis of a decision tree using their peristimulus time histogram (PSTH) shape and discharge rate in response to suprathreshold best-frequency (BF) tone bursts. 2. PSTHs were constructed from responses either to single tones at a unit's BF or to BBN as a function of level. When sufficient sustained activity could be elicited from the unit, arbitrarily defined as > 100 spikes/s, a coefficient of variation (CV) was calculated; the majority were characterized by a CV that was similar to transient chopper units (0.35 < CV < 0.5). First spike latency decreased monotonically with increasing sound level. For the majority of onset units, the first spike timing was very precise. 3. BF rate-level functions recorded from OnL and OnC units did not show any signs of discharge rate saturation at the highest sound levels we have used (100-115 dB SPL). No systematic relationship was observed between the threshold at BF and the shape of the rate-level function. BBN rate-level functions were typically characterized by higher discharge rates than in response to BF tones. However, for OnI units and a minority of other onset units, there was little difference in the shape of their rate-level functions in response to BF tones or BBN. 4. The threshold of most onset units to BBN was similar to the threshold to a BF tone that had similar overall root-mean-square (RMS) energy. The BBN threshold was, on average, 5.5 dB greater than the BF threshold. This result contrasts with that found in auditory-nerve fibers recorded in the same species, with the use of an identical sound system, where the threshold to BBN was, on average, 19.4 dB higher. The mean threshold difference between BBN and BF tones for a population of chopper units recorded in the same series of experiments was 17.7 dB. The relative thresholds to BBN and BF tones indicated that the bandwidths near the onset units' BF threshold were broader than could be estimated with the use of single tones. Ten units were characterized by bimodal response areas.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Functional organization of sound direction and sound pressure level in primary auditory cortex of the cat

1994 ◽  
Vol 72 (5) ◽  
pp. 2383-2405 ◽  
Author(s):  
J. C. Clarey ◽  
P. Barone ◽  
T. J. Imig
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Sound Pressure Level ◽  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Functional Organization ◽  
Primary Auditory Cortex ◽  
Pressure Level ◽  
Cortical Surface ◽  
Data Set ◽  
Function Type ◽  
Level Function

1. The functional organization of neuronal tuning to the azimuthal location and sound pressure level (SPL) of noise bursts was studied in high-frequency primary auditory cortex (AI) of barbiturate-anesthetized cats. Three data collection strategies were used to map neural responses: 1) electrode penetrations oriented normal to the cortical surface provided information on the radial organization of neurons' responses; 2) neurons' responses were examined at a few points in the middle cortical layers in multiple normal penetrations across AI to produce fine-grain maps of azimuth and level selectivity; and 3) electrode penetrations oriented tangential to the cortical surface provided information on neurons' responses along the isofrequency dimension. 2. An azimuth-level data set was obtained for each single- or multiple- (multi-) unit recording; this consisted of responses to noise bursts at five SPLs (0–80 dB in 20-dB steps) from seven azimuthal locations in the frontal hemifield (-90 to +90 degrees in 30 degrees steps; 0 degree elevation). An azimuth function was derived from these data by averaging response magnitude over all SPLs at each azimuth tested. A preferred azimuth range (PAR; range of azimuths over which the response was > or = 75% of maximum) was calculated from the azimuth function and provided a level-independent measure of azimuth selectivity. Each PAR was assigned to one of four azimuth preference categories (contralateral-, midline-, ipsilateral-preferring, or broad/multipeaked) according to its location and extent. A level function obtained from the data set (responsiveness averaged over all azimuths) was classified as monotonic if it showed a decrease of < or = 25% (relative to maximum) at the highest SPL tested (usually 80 dB), and nonmonotonic if it showed a decrease of > 25%. The percentage reduction in responsiveness, relative to maximum, at the highest level tested (termed nonmonotonic strength) and the preferred level range (PLR; range of SPLs over which responsiveness was > or = 75% of maximum) of each response was also determined. 3. Normal penetrations typically showed a predominance of one azimuth preference category and/or level function type. The majority of penetrations (26/36: 72.2%) showed statistically significant azimuth preference homogeneity, and approximately one-half (17/36: 47.2%) showed significant level function type homogeneity. Over one-third (13/36) showed significant homogeneity for both azimuth preference and level function type. 4. Mapping experiments (n = 4) sampled the azimuth and level response functions at two or more depths in closely spaced normal penetrations that covered several square millimeters of AI.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Rate-level responses in awake marmoset auditory cortex

2011 ◽  
Vol 275 (1-2) ◽  
pp. 30-42 ◽  
Author(s):  
Paul V. Watkins ◽  
Dennis L. Barbour
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Rate Level

Dynamic range of neural rate responses in the ventral cochlear nucleus of awake cats

1992 ◽  
Vol 68 (5) ◽  
pp. 1589-1602 ◽  
Author(s):  
B. J. May ◽  
M. B. Sachs
Keyword(s):  
Cochlear Nucleus ◽  
Background Noise ◽  
Dynamic Range ◽  
Broad Band ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Ventral Cochlear Nucleus ◽  
Band Noise ◽  
Level Function ◽  
Decerebrate Cats ◽  
Awake Cats

1. Response thresholds and dynamic range properties of neurons in the ventral cochlear nucleus (VCN) of awake cats were measured by fitting a computational model to rate-level functions for best frequency (BF) tone bursts and for bursts of broad-band noise. Dynamic range measurements were performed in quiet and in the presence of continuous background noise. 2. The sample of neurons obtained in the VCN of awake cats exhibited a variety of peristimulus histograms (PSTHs) and thresholds. All PSTH response types previously described in the VCN of anesthetized cats were found in awake cats. The lowest thresholds for neural responses were observed at sound pressure levels that were equivalent to behavioral thresholds of absolute auditory sensitivity. 3. When responses to BF tones or bursts of broad-band noise were recorded in quiet backgrounds, the dynamic range properties of most units in the VCN of awake cats were not significantly different from dynamic range properties of auditory nerve fibers (ANFs) in anesthetized cats or VCN units in decerebrate cats. All auditory units showed a larger dynamic range for noise bursts than for tone bursts, but VCN units with primary-like and onset PSTHs showed larger dynamic ranges for responses to noise bursts than that of ANFs and VCN chopper units. 4. When tests were performed in the presence of continuous noise, rate-level functions for BF tone bursts shifted to higher tone levels and showed a more compressed range of driven rates in comparison with data obtained in quiet. Compression of the rate-level function in noise resulted from an increase in driven rate at low tone levels and a decrease in rate at high tone levels. These changes in the rate-level function suggest that noise may reduce the range of BF tone levels that are potentially encoded by a unit's rate responses. By exhibiting larger shifts and less compression in background noise, VCN units in awake cats better preserved the dynamic range of their rate responses to BF tones than ANFs in anesthetized cats or VCN units in decerebrate cats. 5. Rate-level functions were obtained from a small sample of VCN units not only with the cat performing the behavioral task but also with the cat awake and sitting quietly in the testing apparatus. No differences in noise-induced shift or compression were noted between the two testing conditions.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

Dependence of discharge rate on sound pressure level in cochlear nerve fibers of the alligator lizard: implications for cochlear mechanisms

1991 ◽  
Vol 65 (6) ◽  
pp. 1580-1597 ◽  
Author(s):  
R. A. Eatock ◽  
T. F. Weiss ◽  
K. L. Otto
Keyword(s):  
Sound Pressure ◽  
Discharge Rate ◽  
Nerve Fibers ◽  
Free Standing ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Straight Line ◽  
Level Function ◽  
The Mean ◽  
Alligator Lizard ◽  
Saturation Rate

1. Rate-level functions for individual cochlear nerve fibers of the alligator lizard, Gerrhonotus multicarinatus, were generated by measuring a fiber's driven discharge rate (the difference between the average discharge rates in the presence and absence of a tone burst) as a function of sound pressure level. 2. When plotted in double logarithmic coordinates, the rate-level function approaches a straight line at low sound pressure levels and saturates at high levels. Thus the rate-level function is a saturating power function of sound pressure. We developed an algorithm to estimate the exponent of the straight-line portion of the function. When tested on simulated data with known parameters, the algorithm provided unbiased estimates of the exponent. 3. Nerve fibers innervating two distinct regions of the alligator lizard's auditory organ, the free-standing region and the tectorial region, have differing rate-level functions. 4. The mean exponent estimate of the rate-level functions of fibers innervating the free-standing region is approximately 2 at all frequencies. For stimulus frequencies at the characteristic frequency (CF), the mean value was 2.1 +/- 0.10 (SE, n = 131). For stimulus frequencies above and below CF, the mean exponent estimates were 2.1 +/- 0.13 (n = 49) and 2.1 +/- 0.11 (n = 34), respectively. A value of 2 is expected for a broad class of nonlinear systems. 5. The mean exponent estimates of the rate-level functions of fibers innervating the tectorial region were 3.0 +/- 0.30 (n = 32) for stimulus frequencies at CF, 2.5 +/- 0.33 (n = 3) for stimulus frequencies below CF, and 1.0 +/- 0.21 (n = 16) for stimulus frequencies above CF. Both the deviation from square-law behavior at CF and the frequency dependence of the exponent imply that nonlinear processing in the tectorial region differs intrinsically from that in the free-standing region. 6. For free-standing fibers, the saturation rate of the rate-level function (the maximum driven rate) is independent of stimulus frequency. This suggests that, in the free-standing region, 1) the alternating (AC) component of the receptor potential makes no significant contribution to the average rate of discharge and 2) neural saturation results from a process that occurs after the narrow-band frequency-selective process(es). 7. In tectorial fibers, the saturation rate is a bandpass function of sound frequency, with a broad peak between 150 and 300 Hz. This function appears to be common to all tectorial fibers.(ABSTRACT TRUNCATED AT 400 WORDS)

scholarly journals Age-related changes in sound onset and offset intensity coding in auditory cortical fields A1 and CL of rhesus macaques

2020 ◽  
Vol 123 (3) ◽  
pp. 1015-1025 ◽  
Author(s):  
Deepa L. Ramamurthy ◽  
Gregg H. Recanzone
Keyword(s):  
Auditory Cortex ◽  
Auditory System ◽  
Rhesus Macaques ◽  
Auditory Pathway ◽  
Neuronal Firing ◽  
Elderly Subjects ◽  
Central Auditory System ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Intensity Coding ◽  
Age Related

Inhibition plays a key role in shaping sensory processing in the central auditory system and has been implicated in sculpting receptive field properties such as sound intensity coding and also in shaping temporal patterns of neuronal firing such as onset- or offset-evoked responses. There is substantial evidence supporting a decrease in inhibition throughout the ascending auditory pathway in geriatric animals. We therefore examined intensity coding of onset (ON) and offset (OFF) responses in auditory cortex of aged and young monkeys. A large proportion of cells in the primary auditory cortex (A1) and the caudolateral field (CL) displayed nonmonotonic rate-level functions for OFF responses in addition to nonmonotonic coding of ON responses. Aging differentially affected ON and OFF responses; the magnitude of effects was generally greater for ON responses. In addition to higher firing rates, neurons in old monkeys exhibited a significant increase in the proportion of monotonic rate-level functions and had higher best intensities than those in young monkeys. OFF responses in young monkeys displayed a range of intensity coding relationships with ON responses of the same cells, ranging from highly similar to highly dissimilar. Dissimilarity in ON/OFF coding was greater in CL and was reduced with aging, which was largely explained by a preferential decrease in the percentage of cells with nonmonotonic coding of ON and OFF responses. The changes we observed are consistent with previously demonstrated alterations in inhibition in the ascending auditory pathway of primates and could be involved in age-related deficits in the temporal processing of sounds. NEW & NOTEWORTHY Aging has a major impact on intensity coding of neurons in auditory cortex of rhesus macaques. Neural responses to sound onset and offset were affected to different extents, and their rate-level functions became more mutually similar, which could be accounted for by the loss of nonmonotonic intensity coding in geriatric monkeys. These findings were consistent with weakened inhibition in the central auditory system and could contribute to auditory processing deficits in elderly subjects.

Temporal Dynamics of Acoustic Stimuli Enhance Amplitude Tuning of Inferior Colliculus Neurons

2000 ◽  
Vol 83 (1) ◽  
pp. 128-138 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexander V. Galazyuk ◽  
Daniel Llano ◽  
Albert S. Feng
Keyword(s):  
Inferior Colliculus ◽  
Real World ◽  
Temporal Dynamics ◽  
Small Population ◽  
Behavioral Context ◽  
Response Properties ◽  
Pulse Trains ◽  
Rate Level ◽  
Rate Dependent ◽  
Level Function

Sounds in real-world situations seldom occur in isolation. In spite of this, most studies in the auditory system have employed sounds that serve to isolate physiological responses, namely, at low rates of stimulation. It is unclear, however, whether the basic response properties of a neuron derived thereof, such as its amplitude and frequency selectivities, are applicable to real-world situations where sounds occur in rapid succession. In the present study, we investigated one of the basic response properties of neurons in the bat inferior colliculus (IC), i.e., the rate-level function, to tone pulses in three different configurations: individual tone pulses of constant amplitude at different rates of stimulation, random-amplitude pulse trains, and dynamic-amplitude-modulated pulse trains the temporal pattern of which was similar to what bats encounter in a behavioral context. We reported that for the majority of IC neurons, amplitude selectivity to tone pulses was dependent on the rate of stimulation. In general, the selectivity was greater at high rates or in a behavioral context than at low rates. For a small population of IC neurons, however, the rate of stimulation had little or no effect on their rate-level functions. Thus for IC neurons, responses to sounds presented at low rates may or may not be used to predict the responses to the same stimuli presented at high rates or in a behavioral context. The possible neural mechanisms underlying the rate-dependent effects are discussed.

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