Learning to encode timing: mechanisms of plasticity in the auditory brainstem.
Mechanisms of plasticity have traditionally been ascribed to higher-order sensory processing areas such as the cortex, whereas early sensory processing centers have been considered largely hard-wired. In agreement with this view, the auditory brainstem has been viewed as a nonplastic site, important for preserving temporal information and minimizing transmission delays. However, recent groundbreaking results from animal models and human studies have revealed remarkable evidence for cellular and behavioral mechanisms for learning and memory in the auditory brainstem.
Tzounopoulos
Thanos
T
Department of Otolaryngology, University of Pittsburgh, Pittsburgh, PA 15260, USA. thanos@pitt.edu
Kraus
Nina
N
D000161:Acoustic Stimulation / Q000379:methods; D000818:Animals; D001933:Brain Stem / Q000166:cytology* / Q000502:physiology*; D003071:Cognition / Q000502:physiology; D016057:Evoked Potentials, Auditory, Brain Stem / Q000502:physiology; D006801:Humans; D007858:Learning / Q000502:physiology*; D008959:Models, Neurological; D009473:Neuronal Plasticity / Q000502:physiology*; D013997:Time Factors