Abstract
Many acoustic communication signals, including human speech and music, consist of a precise temporal arrangement of discrete elements, but it is unclear whether this precise temporal patterning is required to activate the sensory neurons that mediate signal recognition. In a variety of systems, neurons respond selectively when two1,2,3 or more4 sound elements are presented in a particular temporal order and the precise relative timing of these elements is particularly important for 'delay-tuned' neurons2, including 'tracking' types5, in bats. Here we show that one class of auditory neurons in the midbrain of anurans (frogs and toads) responds only to a series of specific interpulse intervals (IPIs); in the most selective cases, a single interval that is slightly longer or shorter than the requisite interval can reset this interval-counting process.
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Acknowledgements
The authors thank N. Vickers and D. Kelley for reading an earlier draft of this manuscript, and NIDCD for supporting this work.
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Edwards, C., Alder, T. & Rose, G. Auditory midbrain neurons that count. Nat Neurosci 5, 934–936 (2002). https://doi.org/10.1038/nn916
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1038/nn916