Animals navigate the auditory world by recognizing complex sounds, from the rustle of a predator to the call of a potential mate. This ability depends in part on the octopus cells of the auditory brainstem, which respond to multiple frequencies that change over time, as occurs in natural stimuli. Unlike the average neuron, which integrates inputs over time on the order of tens of milliseconds, octopus cells must detect momentary coincidence of excitatory inputs from the cochlea during an ongoing sound on both the millisecond and submillisecond time scale. Here, we show that octopus cells receive inhibitory inputs on their dendrites that enhance opportunities for coincidence detection in the cell body, thereby allowing for responses both to rapid onsets at the beginning of a sound and to frequency modulations during the sound. This mechanism is crucial for the fundamental process of integrating the synchronized frequencies of natural auditory signals over time.
Experimental motivation: Biophysical model of Octopus neuron in auditory brain stem
Model Type: Neuron or other electrically excitable cell
Region(s) or Organism(s): Auditory brainstem; Brainstem
Cell Type(s): Cochlear nucleus octopus GLU cell
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Model Concept(s): Coincidence Detection; Synchronization
Simulation Environment: NEURON
Implementer(s): Honnuraiah, Suraj [hs at ini.phys.ethz.ch]
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