title: An overview of stimulus-specific adaptation in the auditory thalamus.
abstract: In the auditory brain, some populations of neurons exhibit stimulus-specific adaptation (SSA), whereby they adapt to frequently occurring stimuli but retain sensitivity to stimuli that are rare. SA has been observed in auditory structures from the midbrain to the primary auditory cortex (A1) and has been proposed to be a precursor to the generation of deviance detection. SSA is strongly expressed in non-lemniscal regions of the medial geniculate body (MGB), the principal nucleus of the auditory thalamus. In this account we review the state of the art of SSA research in the MGB, highlighting the importance of this auditory centre in detecting sounds that may be relevant for survival.
authors.affiliation: Auditory Neurophysiology Unit, Laboratory for the Neurobiology of Hearing, Institute of Neuroscience of Castilla y León, University of Salamanca, C/Pintor Fernando Gallego 1, 37007, Salamanca, Spain.
authors.forename: Flora M
authors.initials: FM
authors.lastname: Antunes
authors.forename: Manuel S
authors.initials: MS
authors.lastname: Malmierca
mesh_terms: D000161:Acoustic Stimulation; D000222:Adaptation, Physiological; D000818:Animals; D001303:Auditory Cortex / Q000502:physiology*; D001306:Auditory Pathways / Q000502:physiology; D005072:Evoked Potentials, Auditory; D005829:Geniculate Bodies / Q000502:physiology*; D006801:Humans; D009474:Neurons / Q000502:physiology*