PBIO SEMINAR SERIES

Fast, precise neuronal computing in gerbil auditory brain stem.

Wednesday - May 21, 2008
07-08 SEMINAR SERIES
CHDD, Room 150

John Rinzel
Courant Institute, New York University
Speaker's website

Host: Adrienne Fairhall
Co-hosting Department: Bloedell Center & Applied Math

Principal neurons in the medial superior olive (MSO) perform extraordinarily fast and precise coincidence detection in the neuronal computation for sound localization. These MSO neurons are biophysically specialized with fast-gating, spatially-segregated ionic currents, bipolar dendrites - each driven by inputs from one side, a fast subthreshold-activated K+ current (primarily, Kv1.1), synaptic excitation and inhibition, both fast. Our in vitro experimental and computational results provide insights into this definitive feedforward neuron and how interaural time difference (ITD) tuning is achieved. ITD coding by gerbil MSO contrasts with the classical Jeffress model for sound localization.