title: Dynamic encoding of amplitude-modulated sounds at the level of auditory nerve fibers.
abstract: The relationship between the mean spike frequency of auditory nerve fibers and the levels of tonal stimuli with frequencies equal to the characteristic frequency can be presented as the "input-output" characteristic. In real auditory nerve fibers, the slope of this characteristic increases and its width decreases with increases in the level of spontaneous activity or the ability of fibers to generate spikes in the absence of a stimulus. However, real fibers with low spontaneous activity reproduce the amplitude modulation of sinusoidally amplitude-modulated signal significantly better than fibers with high levels of spontaneous activity. The simulation experiment reported here shows that the reason for the good reproduction of amplitude modulation in auditory nerve fibers is not the static profiles of the "input-output" characteristic but the dynamic properties of fibers which support the tuning (adaptation) of the threshold of the fiber to the level of the stimulus being applied. Because of their steep "input-output" characteristic, auditory nerve fibers with high levels of spontaneous activity can reproduce the modulation of sounds at subthreshold levels when a weak noise is added to the signal, thus demonstrating the property of stochastic resonance.
authors.affiliation: Academician N. N. Andreev Acoustic Institute, 4 ul. Shvernika, 117036 Moscow, Russia.
authors.forename: L K
authors.initials: LK
authors.lastname: Rimskaya-Korsakova
authors.forename: V N
authors.initials: VN
authors.lastname: Telepnev
authors.forename: N A
authors.initials: NA
authors.lastname: Dubrovksii
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000200:Action Potentials / Q000502:physiology*; D000818:Animals; D003056:Cochlear Nerve / Q000502:physiology*; D003198:Computer Simulation; D004307:Dose-Response Relationship, Radiation; D008959:Models, Neurological; D017711:Nonlinear Dynamics
references.citation: J Comp Neurol. 1984 Feb 20;223(2):163-76
references.pmid: 6200517
references.citation: Biol Cybern. 2002 Aug;87(2):91-101
references.pmid: 12181585
references.citation: Hear Res. 1995 Dec;92(1-2):1-16
references.pmid: 8647731
references.citation: J Comp Neurol. 1996 Jul 22;371(2):208-21
references.pmid: 8835727
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1978 Feb;63(2):442-55
references.pmid: 670542
references.citation: Hear Res. 2001 Aug;158(1-2):1-27
references.pmid: 11506933
references.citation: J Comp Physiol A. 1999 Jun;184(6):577-84
references.pmid: 10418154
references.citation: Hear Res. 1985 May;18(2):159-68
references.pmid: 2995298
references.citation: Hear Res. 2002 Nov;173(1-2):21-8
references.pmid: 12372632
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1996 Apr;99(4 Pt 1):2221-38
references.pmid: 8730069
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1983 Dec;74(6):1734-41
references.pmid: 6655131
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1986 Mar;79(3):702-11
references.pmid: 2870094
references.citation: Hear Res. 1991 Oct;55(2):215-22
references.pmid: 1757289
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1980 Jul;68(1):133-46
references.pmid: 7391355
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1985 Mar;77(3):1102-9
references.pmid: 3980864
references.citation: Hear Res. 1987;27(3):221-30
references.pmid: 3610850
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1992 Jan;91(1):215-32
references.pmid: 1737873
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1989 May;85(5):1978-94
references.pmid: 2732379
references.citation: Hear Res. 1990 May;45(3):191-202
references.pmid: 2358413
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1996 Jan;99(1):475-90
references.pmid: 8568035
references.citation: Biofizika. 1985 Jan-Feb;30(1):141-4
references.pmid: 3978136
references.citation: Hear Res. 1991 Dec;57(1):57-62
references.pmid: 1774212
references.citation: Hear Res. 1985;20(2):175-95
references.pmid: 4086382
references.citation: Hear Res. 1986;24(1):1-15
references.pmid: 3759671
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1974 Dec;56(6):1835-47
references.pmid: 4443483
references.citation: J Neurosci. 1983 May;3(5):962-76
references.pmid: 6601694
references.citation: Hear Res. 1989 Aug;41(1):61-9
references.pmid: 2793615
references.citation: Hear Res. 1997 Nov;113(1-2):247-60
references.pmid: 9388003
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1994 May;71(5):1797-825
references.pmid: 8064349
references.citation: Acta Physiol Scand. 1976 Oct;98(2):157-67
references.pmid: 983725
references.citation: J Neurophysiol. 1985 Apr;53(4):940-58
references.pmid: 3998799
references.citation: Hear Res. 1999 Jul;133(1-2):107-19
references.pmid: 10416869
references.citation: Ann Otol Rhinol Laryngol. 1968 Aug;77(4):656-75
references.pmid: 5667215
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1994 Jun;95(6):3430-4
references.pmid: 8046135
references.citation: Biol Cybern. 2002 Aug;87(2):79-90
references.pmid: 12181584
references.citation: Hear Res. 1980 Mar;2(2):123-33
references.pmid: 7364668
references.citation: J Acoust Soc Am. 1987 May;81(5):1486-98
references.pmid: 3584687