Auditory cortical tuning to band-pass noise in primate A1 and CM: A comparison to pure tones

• Published in: Neuroscience research 2011-08, Vol.70 (4), p.401-407
• Main Authors: Kajikawa, Yoshinao, Camalier, Corrie R., de la Mothe, Lisa A., D’Angelo, William R., Sterbing-D’Angelo, Susanne J., Hackett, Troy A.
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Acoustic Stimulation - methods; Animals; Auditory cortex; Auditory Cortex - physiology; Auditory Perception - physiology; Band-pass noise; Bandwidth; Callithrix; Frequency tuning; Multiunit; Noise; Primate; Primates; Reaction Time - physiology
• ISSN: 0168-0102; 1872-8111
• DOI: 10.1016/j.neures.2011.04.003

► We compared responses to tones and band-pass noise (BPN) in primate auditory cortex. ► Core area A1 was compared to belt area CM of the marmoset. ► In both areas, responses to BPN were stronger and faster than responses to tones. ► BPN evoked responses at lower intensity and wider center frequencies than tones. We examined multiunit responses to tones and to 1/3 and 2/3 octave band-pass noise (BPN) in the marmoset primary auditory cortex (A1) and the caudomedial belt (CM). In both areas, BPN was more effective than tones, evoking multiunit responses at lower intensity and across a wider frequency range. Typically, the best responses to BPN remained at the characteristic frequency. Additionally, in both areas responses to BPN tended to be of greater magnitude and shorter latency than responses to tones. These effects are consistent with the integration of more excitatory inputs driven by BPN than by tones. While it is generally thought that single units in A1 prefer narrow band sounds such as tones, we found that best responses for multi units in both A1 and CM were obtained with noises of narrow spectral bandwidths.