Response properties of single neurons in anteroventral (AVCN) of the newborn cat: Frequency selectivity and temporal ordering of discharges
Year: 1975
Type: conference-abstract
Abstract: In the cat, anatomic development of the peripheral auditory system, including the cochlear nuclei, proceeds for weeks after birth. We describe here some properties of functional maturation of responses to pure tones of AVCN neurons in kittens ranging in age from 4 to 30 days. In kittens less then one week old, AVCN units possessing best frequencies below 2000 Hz are somewhat more broadly tuned than are units found in the adult. Furthermore, thresholds at best frequency are greatly elevated (typically greater than 100 dB SPL), saturation discharge rates are relatively low, and the average latent periods to the first spike are relatively long. By the end of the third postnatal week these response properties are similar to those obtained in the adult AVCN. In kittens less than two weeks of age, the discharges of units resposive to low-frequency tones are securely locked in phase for frequencies below 300 Hz; however, phase locking declines rapidly at higher frequencies and is generally absent above 1000 Hz, even though units may still be responding vigorously to the tone. The range of frequencies to which phase locking may be observed increases with the age of the animal, but, during the first 30 days postpartum, the degree of phase locking is, with few exceptions, poorer than that obtained in adult animals.
DOI: 10.1121/1.2002237
Authors: Eric Javel, John E. Brugge, Leonard M. Kitzes
Institution: University of Wisconsin–Madison
Language: English
Subfield: Sensory Systems
Field: Neuroscience
Domain: Life Sciences
Open Access status: bronze
OpenAlex ID: W2039195602