HOME HELP FEEDBACK SUBSCRIPTIONS ARCHIVE SEARCH TABLE OF CONTENTS		QUICK SEARCH:   [advanced] Author: Keyword(s): Year:  Vol:  Page:

This Article Full Text Full Text (PDF) Alert me when this article is cited Alert me if a correction is posted Citation Map Services Email this article to a friend Similar articles in this journal Similar articles in ISI Web of Science Similar articles in PubMed Alert me to new issues of the journal Download to citation manager Citing Articles Citing Articles via HighWire Citing Articles via ISI Web of Science (5) Citing Articles via Google Scholar Google Scholar Articles by Neuert, V. Articles by Winter, I. M. Search for Related Content PubMed PubMed Citation Articles by Neuert, V. Articles by Winter, I. M.

Temporal Representation of the Delay of Iterated Rippled Noise in the Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus

¹Centre for the Neural Basis of Hearing, The Physiological Laboratory, Cambridge, United Kingdom; and ²AG Neurosensorik, Carl von Ossietzky Universität, Oldenburg, Germany

Submitted 29 July 2004; accepted in final form 16 December 2004

It has been suggested that the dorsal cochlear nucleus (DCN) is involved in the temporal representation of both envelope periodicity and pitch. This hypothesis is tested using iterated rippled noise (IRN), which is generated by a cascade of delay and add [IRN(+)] or delay and subtract [IRN(–)] operations. The autocorrelation functions (ACFs) of the waveform and the envelope of IRN(+) have a first peak at the delay, which corresponds to the perceived pitch of the IRN. With the same delay, the pitch of IRN(–) is generally an octave lower than for IRN(+). This is reflected in a first peak at twice the delay in the ACF of the waveform for IRN(–). In contrast, for identical delays, the ACF of the envelope for both IRN(–) and IRN(+) is the same. Thus the use of IRN allows the distinction between envelope- or fine-structure sensitivity. Recordings were made from 135 single units (BFs <5 kHz) in the DCN of the anesthetized guinea pig using IRN with delays ranging from 1 to 32 ms. In our sample 42% were sensitive to the periodicity of IRN(+) and were tuned to a particular delay in their first-order interspike interval histograms (ISIHs). This tuning was highly correlated with their response to white noise. Most units with best frequencies (BFs) <500 Hz show a different all-order ISIH for IRN(+) and IRN(–), which corresponds to the perceived pitch difference, whereas units with higher BFs show a similar response to IRN(+) and IRN(–). The results indicate that low-frequency units (BF <500 Hz) in the DCN may be involved in the representation of the waveform fine structure, although units with BFs >500 Hz are able to encode only the envelope periodicity of broadband IRN in their temporal discharge characteristics.

This article has been cited by other articles:

				S. E. Street and P. B. Manis Action Potential Timing Precision in Dorsal Cochlear Nucleus Pyramidal Cells J Neurophysiol, June 1, 2007; 97(6): 4162 - 4172. [Abstract] [Full Text] [PDF]