Siveke Ida, Pecka Michael, Seidl Armin H, Baudoux Sylvie, Grothe Benedikt
Division of Neurobiology, Department Biology II, Biocenter, Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich, Grosshaderner Strasse 2, D-81252 Martinsried, Germany.
J Neurophysiol. 2006 Sep;96(3):1425-40. doi: 10.1152/jn.00713.2005. Epub 2006 Mar 29.
Differences in intensity and arrival time of sounds at the two ears, interaural intensity and time differences (IID, ITD), are the chief cues for sound localization. Both cues are initially processed in the superior olivary complex (SOC), which projects to the dorsal nucleus of the lateral lemniscus (DNLL) and the auditory midbrain. Here we present basic response properties of low-frequency (< 2 kHz) DNLL neurons and their binaural sensitivity to ITDs and IIDs in the anesthetized gerbil. We found many neurons showing binaural properties similar to those reported for SOC neurons. IID-properties were similar to that of the contralateral lateral superior olive (LSO). A majority of cells had an ITD sensitivity resembling that of either the ipsilateral medial superior olive (MSO) or the contralateral LSO. A smaller number of cells displayed intermediate types of ITD sensitivity. In neurons with MSO-like response ITDs that evoked maximal discharges were mostly outside of the range of ITDs the gerbil naturally experiences. The maxima of the first derivative of their ITD-functions (steepest slope), however, were well within the physiological range of ITDs. This finding is consistent with the concept of a population rather than a place code for ITDs. Moreover, we describe several other binaural properties as well as physiological and anatomical evidence for a small but significant input from the contralateral MSO. The large number of ITD-sensitive low-frequency neurons implicates a substantial role for the DNLL in ITD processing and promotes this nucleus as a suitable model for further studies on ITD-coding.
声音在两耳处的强度和到达时间差异,即双耳强度差和时间差(IID、ITD),是声音定位的主要线索。这两种线索最初都在橄榄上核复合体(SOC)中进行处理,该复合体投射到外侧丘系背核(DNLL)和听觉中脑。在此,我们展示了麻醉沙鼠中低频(<2 kHz)DNLL神经元的基本反应特性及其对ITD和IID的双耳敏感性。我们发现许多神经元表现出与报道的SOC神经元相似的双耳特性。IID特性与对侧外侧上橄榄核(LSO)的相似。大多数细胞的ITD敏感性类似于同侧内侧上橄榄核(MSO)或对侧LSO。少数细胞表现出中间类型的ITD敏感性。在具有类似MSO反应的ITD的神经元中,诱发最大放电的ITD大多超出沙鼠自然经历的ITD范围。然而,它们的ITD函数一阶导数的最大值(最陡斜率)完全在ITD的生理范围内。这一发现与ITD的群体编码而非位置编码概念一致。此外,我们还描述了其他几种双耳特性以及来自对侧MSO的少量但显著输入的生理和解剖学证据。大量对ITD敏感的低频神经元表明DNLL在ITD处理中起着重要作用,并促使该核成为进一步研究ITD编码的合适模型。