title: Time-frequency distribution of neuronal activity in the gerbil inferior colliculus responding to auditory stimuli.
abstract: We classified the firing pattern of neurons in the central nucleus of the inferior colliculus (ICc) in a time-frequency coordinate, except for simple phasic onset responses, into four groups using tone bursts with a wide frequency range. The ICc is the major nucleus in the auditory midbrain. Single-unit recordings were made from ICc contralateral to the monaurally stimulated ear in anesthetized gerbils. Neurons of three out of the four groups (53.8%) demonstrated that the firing distribution changed depending on time and frequency, which was not shown previously. Neurons of one group (37.6%) exhibited a frequency response range that changed little with time. The remaining neurons (8.6%) belonged to none of the above classifications. The time-frequency-sensitive neurons in ICc may be good candidates for coding communication sounds, which comprise complex temporal changes in frequency.
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000818:Animals; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology*; D005849:Gerbillinae; D007245:Inferior Colliculi / Q000502:physiology*; D009474:Neurons / Q000145:classification / Q000502:physiology; D013997:Time Factors