Modeling neural adaptation in the frog auditory system

Abstract

Extracellular recordings from the auditory midbrain, Torus semicircularis, of the leopard frog reveal a wide diversity of tuning patterns. Some cells seem to be well suited for time-based coding of signal envelope, and others for rate-based coding of signal frequency. Adaptation for ongoing stimuli plays a significant role in shaping the frequency-dependent response rate at different levels of the frog auditory system. Anuran auditory-nerve fibers are unusual in that they reveal frequency-dependent adaptation [A. L. Megela, J. Acoust. Soc. Am. 75, 1155–1162 (1984)], and therefore provide rate-based input. In order to examine the influence of these peripheral inputs on central responses, three layers of auditory neurons were modeled to examine short-term neural adaptation to pure tones and complex signals. The response of each neuron was simulated with a leaky integrate and fire model, and adaptation was implemented by means of an increasing threshold. Auditory-nerve fibers, dorsal medullary nucleus neurons, and toral cells were simulated and connected in three ascending layers. Modifying the adaptation properties of the peripheral fibers dramatically alters the response at the midbrain. [Work supported by NOHR to M.J.F.; Gustavus Presidential Scholarship to K.McA.; NIH DC05257 to A.M.S.]