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Long-term temporal integration in the anuran auditory system

Nature Neuroscience volume 1, pages 519–523 (1998)Cite this article

Abstract

Analysis of the temporal structure of acoustic signals is important for the communication and survival of a variety of animals including humans. Recognition and discrimination of particular temporal patterns in sounds may involve integration of auditory information presented over hundreds of milliseconds or seconds. Here we show neural evidence for long-term integration in the anuran auditory system. The responses of one class of auditory neurons in the torus semicircularis (auditory midbrain) of frogs reflect the integration of information, gathered over approximately 45–150 ms, from a series of stimulus pulses, not stimulus energy. This integration process is fundamental to the selective responses of these neurons for particular call types.

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Figure 1: Pulse-integrating properties of a neuron in the torus or auditory midbrain of the frog H.regilla.
Figure 2: Energy independence of the pulse-integration process: pulse amplitude variations.
Figure 3: Energy independence of the pulse-integration process: variations of pulse duty cycle.

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Acknowledgements

This work was supported by a grant from the National Organization for Hearing Research to G.J.R. We thank J. Canfield, E. Fortune and D. Carrier for critically reading this manuscript.

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  1. Department of Biology, University of Utah, Salt Lake City, 84112, Utah, USA

    Todd B. Alder & Gary J. Rose

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  1. Todd B. Alder
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  2. Gary J. Rose
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Correspondence to Gary J. Rose.

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Alder, T., Rose, G. Long-term temporal integration in the anuran auditory system. Nat Neurosci 1, 519–523 (1998). https://doi.org/10.1038/2237

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